OIC Vehemently Denounces Israeli Assaults On Al-Aqsa Mosque – OpEd

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has strongly denounced the hazardous escalation by Israeli occupation forces and terrorist settlers who repeatedly attacked the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan.

The OIC issued a communiqué on Saturday following an unusual open-ended meeting of the organization’s Executive Committee. The communiqué decried ongoing Israeli aggression on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The full text of the communiqué is as follows:

The Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian Cause, with Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and its sanctities at its heart, for the entire Islamic Ummah, and the eternal attachment of Muslims all over the world to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first of the two Qiblas and the third of the Holy Mosques, as well as affirming the Arab and Islamic identity of occupied East Al-Quds, the capital of the State of Palestine and dismissing any prejudice to that in any way:

1. Condemns in the strongest terms the dangerous escalation by the Israeli occupation forces and terrorist settlers by repeatedly storming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif during the blessed month of Ramadan, culminating in the atrocious brutal attack on the night of Ramadan 14 on worshipers and those stationed in its courtyards while performing their prayers and rituals, including women and children, wounding and arresting hundreds of them, and damaging the Qibli Mosque in a flagrant provocation to the feelings of Muslims all over the world, an attack on the existing legal and historical situation, and a severe violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions,
2. Warns of the consequences of the continued infringement by the Israeli occupation authorities, their officials, and terrorist settlers on the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif, including continuous provocations, abuses, daily severe assaults, and incursions in gross violation of international law and unprecedented tampering with the existing historical and legal situation to perpetuate the temporal and spatial division of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and stresses that the Israeli occupation has no sovereignty over any part of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif and that Muslim worshipers have the absolute right to pray freely and safely in and around it, at any time, without any hindrance or violence inflicted on them,

3. Holds Israel, the occupying power, accountable for the consequences of these dangerous and provocative actions of its racist government, as it continues to seek, through systematic brutal attacks, deliberate provocation, and repeated incitement, to inflame the situation and provoke a religious confrontation with unforeseen consequences, warns of the possible repercussions on international peace and security, and calls on the international community, and in particular the UN Security Council, in its capacity as responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, to assume its responsibilities and take urgent action and necessary measures to deter and stop the dangerous Israeli escalation and all other illegal and provocative measures and policies that affect the occupied city of Al-Quds and the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif, without selectivity or double standards,
4. Appreciates the positions of the countries that expressed their rejection and condemnation of the provocative and aggressive Israeli incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, calls on them to take practical steps, including imposing sanctions on the Israeli colonial regime, to stop these practices and all its illegal measures and policies, and stresses in this context the responsibility of the state parties in the Geneva Conventions, that Israel, the illegal colonial occupying Power, must be held accountable for all its violations of international humanitarian law, whether by its government officials, military forces, or extremist settlers,
5. Pays tribute to the steadfast Palestinian citizens in the city of Al-Quds, and affirms its standing with them and supporting their heroic steadfastness in all possible ways. It also affirms the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and all its holy places and the old town of Al-Quds and its walls and that all measures taken or intended to be taken by the Israeli colonial occupation authorities, which seek to change the character and legal status of the city or its demographic composition, are null and void and have no legal effect,
6. Affirms the historical Jordanian Hashemite Custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy places in the city of Al-Quds and its role in protecting these sanctities and preserving the existing legal and historical status therein and emphasizes that the Department of Al-Quds Endowments and Affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif affiliated to the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Places is the authority authorized to manage the affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif,
7. Reaffirms the important role of the Al-Quds Committee under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, of Morocco, in challenging the detrimental policies implemented by the Israeli occupation authorities in Al-Quds Al-Sharif to change the character and legal status of the city as well as its demographic, cultural and historical composition; and values the role of Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency.
8. Calls on the OIC Member States and General Secretariat to take urgent action to address these severe attacks and activate the mechanisms stipulated in its relevant resolutions to move at all levels and send urgent messages to the concerned international bodies, including the UN Security Council, reflecting the OIC positions in this regard and stressing the request to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and the occupied city of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and its sanctities, specifically the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif, in the face of illegal attempts to change their current legal and historical situation,
9. Reaffirms the importance of continuing coordination and cooperation among the OIC, the League of Arab States (LAS), and the African Union (AU) to protect the occupied city of Al-Quds against systematic Israeli policies and attacks.
10. Calls on the ambassadors of the OIC Member States to act and convey the contents of this communiqué to the capitals of influential countries around the world.
11. Calls on the Islamic Group at the relevant international organizations to act and initiate the necessary consultations and measures to confront and stop the systematic Israeli aggressions in the occupied city of Al-Quds.
12. Affirms its continued follow-up of all developments related to the Holy City of Al-Quds, specifically the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif, and to take the appropriate steps in this regard, as stipulated in the resolutions of the Islamic summits and the Councils of Foreign Ministers.