by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Saeb Erekat
Jerusalem : The Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat, on Thursday urged the international community to impose sanctions against Israel for approving new West Bank settlement units.
On Wednesday, the Israeli authorities approved plans for 1,004 new housing units in the West Bank.
“The colonial-settlement expansion in occupied Palestine by the Israeli occupying power is not only a grave violation of international humanitarian law, but a war crime that would not be taking place if the international community did not treat Israel as a state above the law,” Erekat said in a statement.
“It is long overdue time for the international community to impose sanctions on Israel until it recognizes and fulfils its obligations under international law and UN resolutions,” Erekat was cited as saying by Efe news.
The Palestinian senior official went on to accuse the US of encouraging Israel “to continue with its violations of international law that threatens peace and security in our region”.
Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said on Wednesday that the Israeli government had approved plans for 10,536 West Bank settlement units since US President Donald Trump was elected.
Most of the international community considers the Israeli settlement construction an obstacle to peace and the two-state solution.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit (right) meets OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen in Cairo, Egypt, 14 Aug 2018.
Cairo : Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit met here on Tuesday with Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the latest developments on the issue of Palestine and the importance of coordinating efforts between the two organizations to support Palestinian positions.
Spokesman for the Arab League Secretary General Ambassador Mahmoud Afifi said, in a statement, that the meeting dealt with the most important issues and challenges, especially that all the Arab League member states are, at the same time, active members of the OIC. This is in addition to the overlapping of many areas within the work of the two organizations in the political, economic, social and cultural fields.
Afifi said that the meeting focused on the developments of the Palestinian issue and the importance of coordinating efforts to support Palestine’s positions on the international scene and to ensure the support of the largest number of countries for the just cause of Palestine. He added that the meeting also stressed the need to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to address its financial crisis and ensure continued funding for its operations.
The spokesman said the meeting further touched on the crises in the Arab region, pointing out that Aboul-Gheit and Al-Othaimeen emphasized the importance of working to strengthen the existing relationship between the two organizations to ensure effective action at the international level to achieve the interests of both Arab and Muslim nations in various fields.
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI views aid shipment being sent to Palestinians.
Rabat : With scores killed during protests in Palestine following the shifting of the US Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May, Morocco has sent humanitarian aid and medical team to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Ramallah and Jerusalem.
Equipment for a field hospital planned by Morocco in the Gaza Strip was also sent, according to information shared here by the Moroccan Embassy on Thursday.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI chaired the loading of the humanitarian aid onto the plane at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca.
The aid consists of 113 tonne of foodstuff and 5,000 blankets.
“A medical team will work in the medical-surgical field hospital, and is composed of 97 staff, including 13 doctors and 21 nurses in various specialties,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The North African country also sent with the medical team some 25 tonne of medical aid.
The Moroccan Foreign Ministry said that the setting up of the hospital is meant to provide the necessary medical care to the Palestinian civilians wounded during recent clashes in the Gaza Strip.
This initiative, which comes during the holy month of Ramadan, is in line with the king’s commitment to the Palestinian cause and shows effective solidarity with the Palestinian people, the ministry said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Muslim World, Social Round-up
Turkey’s presidential spokesman Dr. Ibrahim Kalin
Istanbul : The Islamic Summit, to be held in Istanbul on Friday, will discuss the positions and steps of Muslim countries to defend the cause of Palestine and Jerusalem through cooperation and solidarity with the Palestinian state and its people.
This came in a statement circulated Thursday by Turkey’s presidential spokesman Dr. Ibrahim Kalin on the Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the level of heads of state and government of the member states, under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Kalin noted that the summit will discuss the US administration’s violation of international law following the relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as well as the serious developments that emerged after the killing of innocent Palestinians participating in peaceful demonstrations in Gaza. He underscored that the issue of Palestine and Israeli occupation does not only concern Islamic countries, but is a common issue for all those who believe in law and justice.
“The Islamic summit will discuss steps to mobilize international public opinion towards ending grievances in Palestine,” the presidential spokesman said.
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Ramallah, Palestine: Israeli forces detained eight Palestinians during overnight raids in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a Palestinian NGO reported Thursday.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, four Palestinians were arrested in the city of Bethlehem while another three were arrested in Jenin and Jericho.
“Wa’ad Tamimi, brother of [Palestinian resistance icon] Ahed Tamimi, was arrested from his house in the village of Nabi Saleh north of the West Bank city of Ramallah,” it added.
The Israeli army frequently conducts wide-ranging arrest campaigns in the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.
According to Palestinian figures, more than 6,500 Palestinians — including 300 children — are currently languishing in Israeli prisons.
—AA
