Final Communique Adopted by the Open-ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee to Discuss the Ongoing Israeli Aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque – Communique

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Date: 25/04/2022

Arabic: العربية

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Final Communique Adopted by the Open-ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the Level of Permanent Representatives to Discuss the Ongoing Israeli Aggression against the Blessed Al-aqsa Mosque

OIC General Secretariat, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

24 Ramadan 1443h (25 April 2022)

The open-ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the level of Permanent Representatives, held on Monday 25 April 2022 to discuss the ongoing Israeli aggression against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, at the request of the Republic of Indonesia and in coordination and consultation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as current chair of the Islamic Summit and chair of the Executive Committee;

Proceeding from the principles and objectives of the charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the historical, moral and legal responsibility of the Islamic ummah and the obligation of full solidarity with Palestine and its people,

Pursuant to the resolutions of the Islamic Summit affirming that the cause of Palestine at the core of which is Al-Quds Al-Shareef, is the raison d’etre of the OIC and that comprehensive and just peace can be achieved only with the ending of occupation and with independence of the State of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Shareef as its capital,

Reaffirming all resolutions adopted by sessions of the OIC Islamic Summit, conferences and relevant extraordinary meetings,

Recalling all relevant United Nations resolutions – 242 (1967), 252 (1973), 338 (1973), 465, 476 and 478 (1980), 1073 (1996) and the resolutions of the 10th emergency extraordinary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly 2/10 adopted on 24/2/1997 and 3/10 adopted on 15/7/1997 on the illegal Israeli practices in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories and Security Council resolution 2334 (2016),

Reaffirming all relevant international resolutions, including the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 and the Conferences of the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention to Enforce the Convention on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Jerusalem,

Rejecting all attempts by the occupation to change the historical and legal status of the occupied Al-Quds and condemning statements, positions and decisions aimed at changing the status of the occupied Al-Quds,

Commending the resilience of the Palestinians and their legitimate and heroic struggle to defend their holy sites for the sake of their freedom and inalienable national rights,

Reiterating that all legal and administrative actions and measures taken by Israel, the illegal occupation authority, to impose its laws and administrative measures on the occupied Al-Quds are illegal, null, void and illegitimate, and calls on states, institutions, organizations and companies strictly not to recognize or deal in any form with these measures,

Reiterating the centrality of the cause of Palestine for the entire Islamic ummah at the core of which is Al-Quds Al-Shareef, and affirming the Arab and Islamic identity of the occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and rejecting any form of prejudice thereto,

Affirms that Al-Quds Al-Shareef and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s first qibla and third holiest mosque, is a red line for the Islamic ummah; that there can be no security and stability without its full liberation from occupation and return to its Palestinian people and Islamic ummah; calls on Member States to make concerted and individual efforts and rally round and defend Al-Quds and its holy sites, and address Israel’s crimes, provide support for the Palestinian people and the wherewithal for their resilience in the face of barbaric Israeli attacks; and requests them to respect and implement the OIC resolutions on the Palestinian cause as the central cause of the Islamic ummah and raison d’etre of the OIC.

Condemns the criminal Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, particularly in Al-Quds and rejects all illegal measures in the city aimed at enforcing Israeli colonial control on it and altering its historical and legal status, demographic composition and Arab and Islamic character; condemns the continuous cruel attack by the occupation army and extremists on worshipers in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Quds Al-Shareef Haram the Palestinian people, which have escalated in a dangerous manner in recent days in the blessed month of Ramadan and led to hundreds of innocent Muslims being injured and arrested, causing serious damage to the facilities of Al-Aqsa Mosque, in a repeated desecration of its sanctity and the religious rites of the worshipers, a serious provocation of Muslims’ sensibilities and continued violation against the Palestinians, Al-Quds and its holy sites, and holds Israel responsible for the fallouts of these escalations, rejects all illegal measures in the city, including attempts at temporal and spatial division of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Quds Al-Shareef Haram and demands their immediate stop; also affirms that there is no legal, religious or historical legitimacy for these dangerous steps that prejudice the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Reiterates the sovereignty of the State of Palestine over all Palestinian lands occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem and its borders with neighboring states and opposes any steps that can prejudice such; underscores its rejection and condemnation of any misleading designation of Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Quds Al-Shareef Haram; calls for refrain from using religious names on the Al-Aqsa that falsify the Mosque’s history and existing legal and historical status, affirming that such contributes to stoking and perpetuation of the conflict.

Supports the steadfastness and legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, notably their right to freedom and a sovereign independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the basis of the two-state solution, in accordance with international law, the Arab peace initiative and accredited international terms of reference. Calls on Israel to stop all escalations and aggression in the entire occupied Palestinian territory and to stop all actions that threaten security and peace and undermine the two-state solution and the chances of achieving just and comprehensive peace, which is the Arab and Islamic strategic choice and a regional and international necessity. Also calls for the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance to alleviate the plight of the Palestinians and strengthen their resilience.

Calls on all Member States and their permanent representatives at international organizations on the need to act and confront this escalation at all levels including by writing to the United Nations Secretary General and the Security Council about the illegal steps taken by Israel, the illegal occupation authority, to create a new reality in Al-Quds Al-Shareef and to divide the Mosque temporally and spatially, requesting them to assume their responsibility with this escalation.

Affirms its rejection of selective implementation of international law, including international human rights law and the continued exemption of the Palestinian people who have suffered more than fifty-five years of injustice under military occupation; stresses that the Palestinian people cannot be left to the mercy of harsh and illegal military occupation embodying all forms of violence, tyranny and racial segregation; and demands the application of all rights and protections which are guaranteed under international law and granted to all peoples of the world.

Emphasizes its absolute rejection of attempts at justifying ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and calls for an end to the exemption enjoyed by Israel, the colonial occupation authority, in relation to its obligations under international law and demands of the international community to subject Israel to accountability over all its crimes against the Palestinian people.

Emphasizes the role of the historical Hashemite custodianship of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, for the protection of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds and the existing historical and legal status in the city; also emphasizes the need to remove all restrictions encumbrances hampering the work of the Waqf Department in managing the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Quds Haram and to preserve its facilities.

Calls for more effective measures to overcome obstacles to the exercise by the Palestinian people of the right to self-determination, by ensuring provision of protection against the tyranny and aggression of the colonial occupation authorities and hold it accountable for its crimes, including racial segregation apartheid policies, and calls for intensified efforts to achieve a just solution based on law and international legitimacy and to end colonial occupation of the land of the State of Palestine.

Calls on the Member States and their permanent representatives at international forums to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and end their plight by halting the colonial Israeli occupation established on the land of the State of Palestine in defiance of all legal, moral and humanitarian principles and demands an end to the ongoing injustice that has deprived generations of Palestinians the enjoyment of their basic rights, including their right to self-determination and national independence.

Affirms the centrality of the role of the Al-Quds Committee under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, King of the Kingdom of Morocco, in challenging the dangerous measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities in Al-Quds Al-Shareef, and commends the role of Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency.

Calls on the international community to respect the United Nations resolutions on Al-Quds to intensify pressure on Israel to end its illegal occupation of the land of the State of Palestine occupied since 1967 and compel it to abide by the charter of the United Nations, the principles of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian cause, including resolutions adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which affirmed that the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Quds Haram is an Islamic location for Muslim worship and integral part of the World Heritage Sites locations.

Affirms the need for Israel to respect the existing historical and legal status in the Al-Quds Haram and return to the pre-2000 condition in order to respect the fact that the 144 Dounem wide Al-Aqsa Mosque is the exclusive place of worship of Muslims, and that visits by non-Muslims to the place be organized by the Islamic waqf department under the Jordanian Ministry of Islamic Waqf and Holy Sites in its capacity as legal entity with exclusive prerogative to manage the Haram affairs and organize access to it.

Affirms that the time has come for the international community to assume its responsibilities towards fifty-five years of occupation by the colonial occupation authorities and stand up to this illegal system of continued aggression and colonialism at all levels by taking further serious measures and steps to ensure accountability for all violations perpetrated and to ensure justice for the long-suffering Palestinian people.

Requests the international community to compel Israel, the illegal occupation authority, to rescind its illegal decision to annex Al-Quds, and recalls the Islamic position calling for the deployment of all capabilities to confront this decision, and invites them to respect all relevant, United Nations resolutions, in particular Security Council resolutions 465 (1980) and 478 (1980).

Affirms that the road to realize peace and security in the Middle East regions starts with ending the Israeli occupation and the withdrawal of the occupation army and colonialists from the land of the State of Palestine, notably the City of Al-Quds, in implementation of relevant international resolutions. Welcomes the outcomes of the fourth meeting of the Arab ministerial committee tasked with international action to challenge the illegal Israeli actions and policies in the occupied Al-Quds, held in Amman on 21 April 2022.

Calls for intensified coordination and cooperation between the OIC and the League of Arab States, the United Nations and other relevant international organizations where Member States have representatives to respond to any step capable of prejudicing the legal and historical status of the City of Al-Quds.

Entrusts the Secretary General to follow up the developments in this regard and to convey the position of the OIC to international bodies and report thereon to the next session of the Council of Foreign Ministers.