Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General tells US Secretary of State ‘Jerusalem Is Red Line’ – Doha Int. Conf. on Jerusalem – OIC press release/Non-UN docuemnt

‘Jerusalem Is Red Line’, Ihsanoglu Tells Us Secretary Of State at Doha International Conference on Jerusalem

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, on Sunday 26 February 2012, stressed that the challenges created by Israeli practices in Jerusalem, which are at variance with international law, should be challenged in Jerusalem itself, by helping the people to be steadfast, paying attention to critical sectors and assisting them to confront attempts to Judaize their City. The Secretary General however stated that what was being given to Jerusalem was very small and negligible in view of what the City requires to confront the colossal, systematic and well-funded Israeli project.

In his speech at the international conference on Jerusalem, held in Doha, the Qatari capital, Ihsanoglu called on capable Islamic states and financial institutions to give whatever was possible to support Jerusalem. He announced that the OIC had concluded the implementation of a project to develop the youth sector in Al-Quds Al Al-Shareef (Jerusalem). He also added that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) continues to finance numerous projects in various sectors of the Holy City, in addition to its other projects aimed at developing the health and education sectors. Furthermore, he stated that the Islamic Solidarity Fund continues to finance the construction and rehabilitation of several schools in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General stated that he informed the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, that the OIC considered the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque a red line for the Islamic Ummah, and demanded that Israeli violations in Al Quds must be stopped immediately. He reiterated that the Al Aqsa issue was and remains the pivot of OIC’s political activities with various world’s leaders and officials, particularly during the OIC Secretary General’s meetings with the European Union, specifically with the chairman-in-office of the EU and its foreign relations commissioner. Ihsanoglu explained that he had written many letters to EU foreign ministers calling on them to implement the recommendations contained in the reports of heads of European diplomatic missions in Palestine on Al Quds.