From the news desk

Palestinians urge OIC summit on Al-Quds

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Concerned with the escalating Jewish attacks on the holy Al-Aqsa mosque, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the situation in Al-Quds.

“The situation in Jerusalem is unprecedentedly dangerous,” al-Maliki said at an OIC meeting in Moroccan capital Rabat on Wednesday, November 12, Anadolu Agency reported.

Al-Maliki warned that the recent spate of violations were part of a larger plan to “Judaize” Al-Quds.

The Israeli plans included taking over the precincts of the Al-Aqsa Mosque to allow Jewish worshippers to pray in the mosque complex.

Tension has run high in the holy city of Al-Quds since last week, when Israeli authorities closed Al-Aqsa mosque compound after Glick’s shooting before reopening it a day later.

The unrest mounted further after Israeli forces killed a young Palestinian man suspected of shooting the rabbi in a raid last week on his East Jerusalem home.

Several Israeli parliamentarians have also entered the mosque complex in recent days, drawing the ire of Muslim worshippers and official condemnation from Arab and Muslim countries.

Groups of Jewish settlers, too, have forced their way into the site, prompting clashes between Muslim worshippers and Israeli forces.

The Palestinian foreign minister warned that the latest developments made the Arab and Muslim intervention necessary to protect Al-Quds holy sites.

He added that Israel’s current policies regarding the flashpoint city would only serve to encourage more violence and tension.

Al-Maliki calls were supported by Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar who called on the international community to intervene to stop “Israeli provocations” against Muslim holy sites in Al-Quds.

Al-Aqsa is the Muslims’ first Qiblah [direction Muslims take during prayers] and it is the third holiest shrine after Al Ka`bah in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad’s Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Its significance has been reinforced by the Islamic incident of Al Isra’a and Al Mi’raj — the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him).

OIC Support

On his part, OIC chief Iyad Madani called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to stop Israeli “aggression” in occupied Al-Quds.

“The UN Security Council should… issue a resolution to end the Israeli occupation [of Palestinian land] in accordance with a specific timeframe,” Madani said in Rabat, where the OIC’s Jerusalem committee is currently convening.

“The [security] council’s five permanent member states bear political and legal responsibility for standing up to Israeli arrogance,” he added.

The OIC chief has also criticized the US for vetoing any resolution that contradicts with Israeli benefits.

“The United States cannot be a party [to the conflict] and a mediator at the same time,” he asserted.

Madani went on to say that the OIC was considering an emergency Islamic summit to express support for the Palestinian people and discuss means of protecting the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Jerusalem Committee was created by the Jeddah-based OIC in 1975 with the aim of protecting the historic city’s Islamic and Arab character from Israel’s ongoing “Judaization” campaign.

The committee convened in Rabat on Wednesday to discuss recent Israeli “escalations” in the city and means of assisting the city’s Palestinian residents.

Israel occupied the holy city of Al-Quds, the West Bank and Golan Heights in the 1967 war and later annexed them in a move not recognized by the international community or UN resolutions.

Since then, Israel has adopted a series of oppressive measures to force the Palestinians out of Al-Quds, including systematic demolition of their homes and building settlements. ONISLAM


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