Assistant secretary-general for Palestine affairs: OIC is taking a set of measures to counter Israeli aggressions

Date: 11/02/2007

Answering a question on the actions taken by the Organization of the Islamic Conference to counter the Israeli aggressions against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Ambassador Samir Bakr, Assistant Secretary-General for Al Quds and Palestine Affairs, said that the OIC has made a number of steps to deal with the aggressions against the holy Al Aqsa Mosque. The Secretary-General, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, examined the issue of the aggressions against Al Quds and Al Aqsa Mosque with President Jacques Chirac during their meeting last week. The Secretary-General met also with the ambassadors of Islamic States to the UNESCO in order to coordinate an Islamic effort through the UNESCO to stop the excavations presently carried out by Israel underneath and around Al Aqsa Mosque, its construction of a museum on Ma’manullah cemetery and its attempts to alter the civilizational and historical landmarks of the city of Al Quds. In the aftermath of Israel’s destruction of Al-Maghariba Gate, the Secretary-General had condemned this aggression and written to Dato Seri Abdullah Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Islamic Summit Conference, as well as a number of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States in order to launch new initiatives involving influential international players with a view to putting an end to the Israeli aggressions. The OIC Secretary-General also issued his directives to the OIC Permanent Observer at the United Nations, New York, to coordinate collective Islamic action there. Consequently, the Ambassadors of the OIC Member States met in New York and issued a statement on the 8th of February 2007 assault on the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque. On 29 February 2007, the OIC Ambassadors also held a meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General on the gravity of the situation in Al-Quds, where the latter emphasized his appreciation of the sensitivity of this subject and made immediate contacts with the Quartet. The OIC Ambassadors also met with the President of the UN Security Council who informed the rest of the members of the council of the situation. The OIC Secretary-General also dispatched letters to the members of the Quartet, UNESCO’s Director-General, the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as well as the EU Commissioner for External Relations, in which the Secretary-General urged them to bring their pressure to bear on Israel in order to compel it to stop its illegal activities and put an end to its violations and desecration of Islamic holy sites.

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