The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen, has called upon OIC member states, financial institutions, the public and private sector, as well as individuals, to provide all forms of assistance to the people of Al-Quds, particularly in the critical sectors, such as education, housing and health.

He made the call during his address at the opening session of the Open-Ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the level of Foreign Ministers on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, held in Istanbul on Monday.

He explained that the OIC, through the Islamic Development Bank, is carrying out projects covering all aspects of social and economic development in Palestine. This is in addition to the financing provided by the Islamic Solidarity Fund, which, since its inception, has executed many projects in the State of Palestine, valued at US$27 million, particularly in the maintenance of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and infrastructure projects in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

Al-Othaimeen emphasised that the meeting is important in order to co-ordinate the efforts of the OIC member states to confront the plans of Israel, the occupying power, to take control of Al-Aqsa and Judaise Al-Quds, which it has blockaded and isolated from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.

He warned that the continuation of open Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in Al-Quds places singular and collective responsibility on the shoulder of the OIC member states. They can confront these challenges by working with the international community and by assuming responsibility for ending Israeli aggressions and infractions in Al-Quds, he added.

They should also provide the necessary international protection to the Palestinian people. This can only be achieved through the commencement of serious and effective negotiations to bring about just and comprehensive peace on the Palestinian issue, in accordance with the Arab peace initiative, the two-state solution, and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

In this connection, he renewed his tribute to the Palestinian people in Al-Quds, affirming their connection to their land and holy sites. He praised the determination of the Jerusalemites, which forced the Israeli occupation to succumb to their legitimate demands.

He also underscored the religious and spiritual centrality of the city, the eternal connection of Muslims all over the world to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the rejection of any attempt to compromise the rights of the Palestinians to full sovereignty over Al-Quds, capital of the State of Palestine.

Source: Wam