Muslim world leaders at OIC body denounces USA moves

Posted by Ameenur Rasheed on December 13, 2017.

Final Communiqué Issued by The Meeting of The Committee of Permanent Representatives of The OIC Member States on Attempts To Change The Legal and Historical Status of The Holy City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and To Transfer Diplomatic Missions Thereto

OIC press release issued on 04/12/2017

The extraordinary meeting at the level of permanent representatives of the OIC Member States, held at the request of the State of Palestine at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Monday, 16 Rabi Awwal 1439 AH – 4 December 2017, to consider the US Administration’s leaning towards changing the legal and historical status of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif.;

Proceeding from the principles and objectives of the Charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC);

Pursuant to the Islamic resolutions and decisions affirming that the issue of Al-Quds Al-Sharif is at the core of the Palestinian cause, which, itself, is the essence of the Arab-Israeli conflict; and that there can be no comprehensive and just peace without the return of the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to Palestinian sovereignty, as the capital of the State of Palestine;

Affirming all resolutions of the relevant Islamic conferences and extraordinary meetings, including those of Al-Quds Committee at its previous sessions;

Recalling the relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly resolutions No. 242 (1967); 252 (1968); 338 (1973); 465; 476; 478 (1980); and 1073 (1996), and the resolutions of the Tenth Emergency Extraordinary Session of the UN General Assembly in 2002, namely Resolution No. ES 10/2 dated 24/4/1997 and No. ES 10/3 dated 15/7/1997, on illegal Israeli practices in occupied East Al-Quds and the other occupied Palestinian territories; and welcoming the adoption by the UN Security Council of Resolution No. 2334 (2016);

Reaffirming the relevant international resolutions and the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Legal Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 and the conferences of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Times of War of 1949, and reiterating that the Convention’s provisions apply to the territory of the State of Palestine, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and also cover protection for civilians in times of war;

Expressing its concern at attempts to change the historical and legal status of the occupied City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and to transfer diplomatic missions thereto;

Condemning the statements, positions and resolutions aimed at changing the status of the occupied city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif:

1- Reaffirms the centrality of the Palestinian cause, in particular the Holy City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, to the entire Muslim Ummah, as the eventual and permanent headquarters of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)and affirms the Arab and Islamic identity of the occupied East Al-Quds as the capital of the State of Palestine;

2- Condemns the illegal measures against the city of Al-Quds aimed at imposing Israeli control over it, which will contribute to changing the historical and legal status of the Holy City, its demographic structure and its Arab-Islamic character;

3- Condemns all statements and positions issued by US officials that blatantly challenge the Islamic feelings, given the grave consequences and threats this presents to international peace and security;

4- Affirms that the Muslim Ummah and the OIC Member States will not stand idly by and will not accept any hostile action that detracts from the status of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and that the OIC will immediately activate all its relevant resolutions;

5- Stresses that the centrality of the Palestinian cause and Al-Quds Al-Sharif requires Member States to adopt a unified position in all international forums, and requests the OIC General Secretariat and its affiliated, subsidiary and specialized institutions to take the necessary measures to ensure the support of the OIC-backed resolutions on the Palestinian cause whose essence is the issue of Al-Quds;

6- Reaffirms the sovereignty of the State of Palestine on all Palestinian land occupied in 1967, including East Al-Quds, and its borders with neighboring countries as well as its right to confront any steps that might prejudice this;

7- Reaffirms that all legislative and administrative measures taken by Israel, the occupying power, to impose its laws and administrative procedures on the City of Al-Quds are illegal and therefore void in accordance with the UN resolutions, and calls upon all States, institutions, organizations and companies to avoid liability by not recognizing or engaging in any form with these measures;

8- Calls upon all States and their executive and legislative bodies, in particular the United States of America, and all international institutions and bodies, to abide by the resolutions of international legality on the City of Al-Quds, which is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, and to refrain from taking any step that would include any form of explicit or implicit recognition of the illegal annexation of Al-Quds by Israel, the occupying power, including through the transfer of their diplomatic missions to the City;

9- Demands that all States, including the US, not recognize any changes in the borders of 4 July 1967, including in connection with Al-Quds; calls upon them to distinguish, in their dealings, between Israel and the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including Al-Quds, and not to encourage Israel, the occupying power, in its imperialist design to take control of and Judaize the city of Al-Quds; and calls upon the international community to avoid any action or statement that could consecrate these irresponsible plans and trends, and to counter these alarming violations, which, if continued, would be a serious threat to peace and security both in the region and in the world;

10- Warns against recognizing Al-Quds as the capital of Israel, the occupying power, or establishing or transferring any diplomatic mission to Al-Quds, given that this is considered a naked aggression not only on the Arab and Islamic Ummah, but also on the rights of Muslims and Christians alike, and on the Palestinian people’s national rights, including their right to self-determination, and a grave breach of the international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, along with the Security Council’s relevant resolutions: namely Resolutions No. 252 (1968), 267 (1969), 465, 476 and 478 (1980), including the recent resolution 2334 (2016);

11- Calls upon the international community to force Israel, the occupying power, to rescind its unlawful decision to annex Al-Quds; recalls the Islamic position demanding the mobilization of all potential to respond to this decision, and the applying of the political and economic boycott of the states and international officials engaging with this decision, inviting them to respect all the relevant UN resolutions, especially Security Council Resolutions No. 465 and 478 (1980); and calls upon all Member States to severe ties with any party, official or unofficial, that recognizes Israel’s annexation of the sacred city or transfers its diplomatic mission thereto;

12- Stresses that the first step on the path to peace and security in the Middle East is not recognize what the occupying power of Israel is up to, forcing it to withdraw from the territory of the Palestinian State, on top of which the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in implementation of the relevant international resolutions;

13- Calls upon the United States not to be swayed and aligned with the Israeli occupation and imperialism, and not take any of the previously mentioned actions consecrating the annexation of Al-Quds, causing the United States to lose the legal and moral ground and its mediating role, and turning it into a biased party to the conflict;

14- Urges the United States of America to continue positively and fairly mediating to bring about lasting and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution, pursuant to the relevant UN resolutions, the peace process terms of reference, the rules of the international law, the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, and the land-for-peace principle;

15- Calls upon all the Member States to address instant messages on the gravity of transferring the embassy or recognizing the annexation of Al-Quds;

16- Calls for immediate action by the Ministerial Contact Group on al-Quds to reach out to state capitals in connection with the seriousness of this move;

17- Calls for promoting coordination and cooperation between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States to face any step that could prejudice the legal and historical status of Al-Quds;

18- Requests the Islamic group’s ambassadors to the United Nations, especially at the Security Council, to take the necessary measures, in coordination with the Arab group’s counterparts, to act promptly to face the actions aimed at changing the status of Al-Quds, including a call for an urgent session of the Security Council on state violations and abuses of its resolutions;

19- In light of the possible step by the United States to recognize Al-Quds as the so-called “capital of Israel” recommends by consensus the convening of the extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers and extraordinary Islamic Summit conference as soon as possible at date and place to be decided.

20- Entrusts the OIC Secretary General to follow developments in this regard, and report thereon to the upcoming session of the Council of Foreign Ministers.