The Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Executive Committee held an open-ended meeting of foreign ministers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to discuss Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people and its infringement on the sovereignty of Iran.
The meeting adopted a communiqué that strongly condemns Israel's war crimes, aggression, and genocide in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as the assassination of Palestinian leaders.
The communiqué emphasizes the importance of respecting national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of member states, and calls for an end to Israeli aggression, displacement of Palestinians, and illegal settlements.
"Jeddah, August 8, 2024. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Executive Committee held an unusual open-ended meeting of foreign ministers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. "To discuss the ongoing crimes by Israel, the illegal occupying power, against the Palestinian people and their infringing on the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran," was the call for the gathering.The meeting ultimately adopted the following communiqué:On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hosted the "Open-Ended Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee at the Level of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to Discuss the Ongoing Crimes by Israel, the Illegal Occupying Power, Against the Palestinian People and Its Infringing on the Sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran."It emphasizes all resolutions adopted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the issue of Palestine and the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, as well as the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the Arab-Islamic extraordinary summit to discuss Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, which will take place in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in November 2023.It reinforces the principle of respect for all member states' national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence, which is consistent with the values of the United Nations Charter and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Charter.It strongly condemns the political assassinations of Palestinian leaders and holds Israel, the occupying force, completely responsible.It reiterates its unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their leadership in their just struggle to realize their legitimate national rights, which include the right of return, self-determination, and the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital.1. The meeting strongly condemns the ongoing war crimes, aggression, and genocide committed by Israel, the illegal occupying power, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, which have led, over the course of more than 300 days, to the martyrdom and injury of more than 140,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children, the destruction of vital facilities and infrastructure, and the displacement of more than two million It demands an immediate end to Israeli aggression and the policy of torture, starvation, and collective punishment against the Palestinian people, as well as a categorical rejection of any attempt to displace, expel, or forcibly transfer Palestinians from their land.2. The meeting strongly condemns the assassination of Mr. Ismail Haniyeh, the former Palestinian Prime Minister, while he was in Tehran, Iran's capital city, and holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack, which constitutes an act of aggression, a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, and a serious violation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security. It warns that Israel's continued crimes, as the illegitimate occupying power, damage regional security and stability, and calls for quick and effective intervention by the UN Security Council, which has primary responsibility for safeguarding international peace and security.3. It reaffirms the centrality of the Palestine-Al-Quds Ash-Sharif issue for the entire Islamic Ummah, as well as the importance of preserving the Arab and Islamic identity of the city of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and Palestinian sovereignty over it, as both an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and the capital of Palestine. It also emphasizes the need to maintain the current legal and historical status quo at the holy places, particularly the entire Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Ash-Sharif, which covers an area of 144 thousand square meters and serves as the exclusive place of Muslim worship.4. It warns of an increase in Israeli colonial settlement, the threat of annexation of occupied Palestinian territory, and daily attacks and crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army and terrorist settler militias in the West Bank, including the occupied city of Al-Quds, against defenseless Palestinian citizens, their property, land, and holy sites with the goal of forcibly displacing them. It reiterates the contents of the ICJ's legal advisory opinion on the illegality of settlements on Palestinian land, as well as the need to terminate the occupation, dismantle the settlements, and evacuate all Israelis. It advocates for taking the appropriate steps to make the settlers accountable for their crimes, including applying fines, classifying them as terrorists, and prosecuting them.5. It expresses deep concern about Israel's growing and intensifying brutal crimes against thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including executions, torture, starvation, rape, isolation, and forced disappearances, particularly against the martyred detainees in the Gaza Strip. It calls on relevant international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to reveal the whereabouts of Palestinian prisoners, work toward their immediate release and protection, and demand an independent investigation into all Israeli crimes and violations against Palestinians. It noted the High Commissioner for Human Rights' report on the Israeli occupation power's crimes against prisoners, as well as the systematic increase in arbitrary imprisonment committed by Israeli occupation forces since October 7, 2023. It emphasizes the need to compel Israel, the unlawful occupying authority, to treat Palestinian detainees in accordance with international humanitarian law, as well as relevant UN standards and international agreements.6. It strongly condemns Israel's implementation of racist, illegal laws, such as the decision to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state and the designation of UNRWA as a terrorist organization in an attempt to undermine its role and prevent it from operating in the occupied Palestinian territory. This includes the decision to approve settlement outposts while seizing Palestinian tax funds. It stresses the ICJ's legal advisory decision, which ruled Israeli control over the Palestinian territories captured in 1967 unconstitutional and upheld Palestinians' right to self-determination and an independent state. It calls on the international community to take strong action to address and terminate these illegal measures.7. It calls on the United Nations and the UN Security Council to take responsibility for putting an end to Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people, ensuring adequate and sustainable access to humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip in accordance with resolutions 2720 and 2728, and protecting defenseless Palestinian civilians. It also calls on all states to take the necessary steps to prevent Israel, the illegal occupying power, from continuing to commit crimes against the Palestinian people, as well as to respect and implement relevant UN resolutions and ICJ provisional measures on genocide.8. It calls on all OIC member states to stand in solidarity against the illegal acts of the Israeli occupying power, which exacerbate the conflict in the region and endanger regional peace and security, by implementing the necessary diplomatic, legal, and political measures to reverse the escalation in the region and strive for regional and international peace and stability.9. It warns against the continued incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, especially incursions by the Israeli Minister of National Security—an action that is condemned in the strongest terms as a blatant, unacceptable violation of international law and the historical and legal status quo in Al-Quds and its holy sites, and a dangerous escalation that requires the international community, including the Security Council, to immediately put an end to it. It emphasizes that Israel has no control over Al-Quds and its holy places and that East Al-Quds is occupied Palestinian land.10. It emphasizes the need to respect the legal and historical status of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds, including the role of the Al-Quds Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department of the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf Islamic Affairs and Holy Places, as the sole authority with exclusive jurisdiction responsible for managing all the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (Al-Haram Al-Sharif) and regulating entry into the Mosque, under the historical Hashemite gua11. It calls on all states to uphold their responsibilities under international law and the purposes and objectives of the UN Charter and resolutions, and to refrain from providing any assistance, cooperation, or support to Israel, the occupying power, which would prolong Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, grant it impunity, and embolden it to continue its crimes and flagrant violations of international law and relevant UN resolutions.12. It affirms its support for efforts to hold Israel, the illegal occupying power, accountable for its ongoing violations and crimes against the Palestinian people, and welcomes the recent ICJ legal advisory opinion that confirms the illegality of "Israel"'s presence and colonial settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory. It calls for taking the necessary steps to end Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territory as soon as possible, as well as requesting that the International Criminal Court expedite the investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed and ongoing by Israeli colonial occupation government officials against the defenseless Palestinian people, and to bring the criminals to international justice.13. It strongly condemns the Israeli occupation's illegal efforts to undermine the status and role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) by targeting its facilities and staff and attempting to deprive it of its immunities and rights. It emphasizes the mandate provided to UNRWA by the United Nations, as well as the importance of continuing its function and obligations, which are a high priority from a political, humanitarian, and relief standpoint and serve as a driver of regional stability. It appeals for continuous support for the agency to continue delivering basic services to Palestinian refugees, particularly in view of the deteriorating and suffocating humanitarian circumstances in the Gaza Strip.14. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining the efforts undertaken by the joint Arab-Islamic ministerial group, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the international arena to stop the brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, follow up on the implementation of the ICJ's legal advisory opinion on the illegality of the Israeli occupation, mobilize further recognition of the State of Palestine and its full membership in the United Nations, and hold an international15. It directs the Secretary-General to monitor the implementation of the current final communiqué and report back to the next meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers."