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The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) yesterday said Tuesday’s attack by Israeli forces on Al-Ahli Baptismal Hospital in Gaza was a war crime against humanity and a state-sponsored terrorism that deserves accountability and punishment.
The Secretary-General of the OIC, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, who spoke at the emergency meeting the body held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, described the attack as “horrific massacre”.
Taha held the Israeli occupation responsible for “the consequences of its terrorist acts and brutal aggression, which contradict all human values and constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”
He reiterated his call to the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council, to urgently intervene to halt the war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and provide international protection for Palestinians.
This is even as the OIC called on the international community to take a responsible stance to protect the Palestinians in Gaza amidst the raging war between Israel and Hamas.
It also sought aid for Gaza to prevent humanitarian crisis, urged the international community to create conditions for peace and stressed the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state.
The 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority countries denounced Israel’s backers for granting “impunity” in the war in Gaza.
A statement issued after the meeting said the OIC “deplores the international positions that back the brutal aggression against the Palestinian people, and grant Israel impunity, taking advantage of the double standards that provide cover for the occupying power”.
The OIC also condemned Israel for committing Gaza’s hospital massacre and emphasised the need to protect the Palestinian people.
A rocket strike had on Tuesday hit a Christian-run Ahli Arab Hospital in central Gaza City which killed about 500 Palestinians.
At the OIC meeting, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, was quoted by Ahramonline as saying that “The siege on Gaza must be lifted.”
He called on the international community to take a responsible stance to protect the Palestinians in Gaza.
“We stress the necessity of delivering aid to Gaza to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe”, Farhan added.
He said the OIC called on the international community to “create conditions for peace in a way that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people.
“We stress the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state”, he said.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki described the strike on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza as a “deliberate” Israeli attack, stressing that the strip’s residents are being subjected to genocide.
Al-Maliki noted that the Israeli military had attacked the same hospital two days earlier and warned doctors there.
He said that Israel’s “war machine” had killed over 1,300 children in Gaza and slammed the international community that does nothing but “count the number of victims in Gaza.”
Al-Maliki also said Israel killed a child every 15 minutes and had displaced a million Palestinians in one week.
“Israel continues to starve those it has displaced from their homes”, he added.
For his part, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdullahian, said the region was out of control and called for practical measures to be taken during the summit in response to the escalation in Gaza.
Abdullahian criticized his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, whom, he said, “is present in the Zionist operations room while advising others to exercise restraint.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan observed that Israel’s perpetration of “atrocities” was not being met with necessary punishment, emphasizing the need for an unconditional ceasefire.
He noted that Palestinians face continuous suffering and death, saying “a two-state solution is optimal and enduring.”
