OIC calls for urgent meeting of UN Security Council
Regional-Palestine, Politics, 8/16/2001

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has called the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss the situation in the Middle East and Israel's attempts to alter the political status of the holy city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem).

In a message to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the OIC secretary general, Abdelouahed Belkeziz, denounced as dangerous and illegitimate the Israeli decision to invade the Orient House and eight Palestinian institutions in the holy city, saying these measures are a "blatant denial and violation of the accords the Israeli authorities concluded with the Palestinian National Authority" and deny "the Arab city its special legal status that the Israelis approved 35 years ago," a statement by the Jeddah-based pan-Islamic body said.

Warning the international community of "unforeseen and incalculable consequences" of the Israeli moves that may plunge the area "in a cycle of violence, devastation and bloodshed," Belkziz said "the Security council was duty bound to hold an extraordinary session to discuss the situation and adopt binding resolutions to annul the dangerous and illegitimate measures adopted by Israel."

In the wake of Israeli seizures of Palestinian institutions in Al-Quds, including the "Orient House," Belkeziz embarked on intensive and wide ranging contacts and consultation to reach a common stance on action needed to compel Israel to restore the Palestinian institutions in the holy city to their owners, put an end to the successive Israeli aggressions against the unarmed Palestinian people and open the way for a resumption of the peace process.

The OIC secretary-general thus contacted the chair of the 9th Islamic Summit (the State of Qatar), president of Palestine Yasser Arafat, and Arab League secretary-general Amre Moussa on moves to foster the Palestinians' stance and back their call for an end to the Israeli measures, the immediate start of implementation of the Mitchell recommendations and for providing international observers to follow-up and monitor the implementation of the plan.

The representatives of the American and Russian consulates in Jeddah were handed over a copy of the statement issued by the OIC secretary-general on the recent Israeli assaults against Palestinian institutions in the holy city.

The statement comprised an urgent appeal to the United States and Russia, in their capacity as co-sponsors of the peace process, to lose no time in intervening to halt such attacks, ensure international protection to the Palestinian people and restore the earlier status of the Palestinian institutions in Al Quds so that they may resume the role they played as agreed upon in the framework of the peace process.

Belkeziz sent other messages to the Secretary-Generals of the Arab League, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the chair of the European Union (EU) as well as the foreign minister of Mali- current chairman of the 28th session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM), highlighting the dangers inherent to the measures taken by Israel against Palestinian institutions in Al Quds Al-Sharif.

Previous Stories:
  Palestinian, AL representative at UN urge return back of Palestinian sovereignty on Orient House   (8/15/2001)
  ISESCO calls for end to Israeli aggressions against Palestinian people   (8/14/2001)
  An emergency meeting for the Arab follow up committee   (8/14/2001)

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