Jerusalem incident/Al-Aqsa Mosque – Communique by OIC – Letter from Kuwait

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL

Forty-third session Forty-third year

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO

 INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES

 AFFECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF

 THE POPULATION OF THE OCCUPIED

 TERRITORIES

Letter dated 20 January 1988 from the Permanent Representative of

Kuwait to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit herewith the text of the communiqué adopted on 19 January 1988 at the meeting of the members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference concerning the desecration of Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa on 15 January 1988.

I should appreciate it if you would arrange to have the text distributed as an official document of the General Assembly, under the agenda item entitled “Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories”, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Mohammad A. ABULHASAN

Ambassador

 Permanent Representative

ANNEX

Communiqué adopted at the urgent meeting of the members of the

Organization of the Islamic Conference at the United Nations,

held in New York on 19 January 1988, concerning the desecration

of Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa on 15 January 1988 during Friday prayers

An urgent meeting of the members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference at the United Nations was held in New York at the request of the Palestine Liberation Organization on Tuesday, 19 January 1988, to consider the grave situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The meeting was apprised in particular of the desecration of Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Sacred Rock in Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) on 15 January 1988, during Friday prayers.

The meeting recalled that an emergency meeting of the OIC Al-Quds Committee was held on 15 Jumad Awwal 1408H (5 January 1988) in the city of Ifrane, Morocco, at the invitation of its chairman, His Majesty King Hassan II, to consider the ferocious suppressive methods used by Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian people.  That meeting designated 15 January 1988 as a day of Islamic solidarity with the uprising of the Palestinian people.

On Friday, 15 January 1988, while worshippers were performing their prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque and at the Dome of the Sacred Rock, Israeli troops were rushed into the Mosque and opened fire and launched tear gas bombs against the worshippers; resulting in scores of injuries that demanded hospital treatment, some suffering from serious wounds.

The meeting was also apprised of attacks on a number of mosques in Bethlehem, Nablus and Gaza and flagrant violations of the performance of prayers.  Churches as well were subjected to similar brutalities.  The Catholic priest of Rammallah was assaulted and injured in the convent by Israeli troops.

The meeting reiterates its condemnation of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian and other Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and considers that the continuation of the occupation constitutes a grave violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Palestinian and other Arab people under Israeli occupation.  The meeting reaffirms that the continued Israeli occupation is a violation of the relevant United Nations resolutions.

The meeting strongly condemns the Zionist policies and practices by the Israeli troops against the Palestinian Arab people in the occupied Palestinian territories in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.  It calls upon the United Nations to provide protection to ensure the safety for the Palestinian under Israel occupation.  The meeting further calls for an investigation, under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Red Cross, to determine the magnitude of the heinous crimes committed by Israel.  The meeting calls upon the members of the Security Council to take deterrent measures against Israel including the imposing of sanctions in accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference at the United Nations salute the Palestinian people and express their pride in their uprising and declare their solidarity with and support for the glorious Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.