OIC meeting convenes to discuss Israeli war ‘crimes’

OIC Secretary-General Hussein Ibrahim Taha expressed his “strong condemnation of the war crimes of Israel in Gaza.”

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an extraordinary meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss Israeli “crimes” against the Palestinian people and “aggressions” against Iran’s sovereignty.

The meeting was held at the level of the OIC foreign ministers, the pan-Islamic organization said in a statement.

In his opening speech, OIC Secretary-General Hussein Ibrahim Taha expressed his “strong condemnation of the war crimes and daily genocide committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.”

“The persistence of the Israeli occupation in committing these crimes represents a flagrant disregard by Israel, the occupying power, for all prohibitions, norms, international laws, and resolutions,” he added.

The Secretary-General stressed the need to mobilize joint efforts to compel Israel to abide by the international legitimacy resolutions, and to take the necessary measures to implement the recent advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of the Israeli occupation and holding it accountable for all its crimes, in accordance with the international criminal law.

The Secretary-General also condemned all illegal Israeli measures, including vetoing resolutions on the establishment of a Palestinian state, and designation of UNRWA as a terrorist organization. He called for providing more political and financial support to UNRWA’s budget, to enable it to exercise its vital role in providing basic services to Palestinian refugees and contributing to alleviating the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

He called last week’s assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran “an attack on Iran's sovereignty and national security” and a “blatant violation of the principles of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter.”

Haniyeh was assassinated on July 31 after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s new president. While Hamas and Iran accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination, Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

The escalation comes amid Israel’s devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last October despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,600 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.