OIC Commemorates International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – Press Release (Non-UN Document)

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Arabic: العربية

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The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) celebrated the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which coincides with 29 November of every year, by organizing a ceremony at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah on 29 November 2021. The OIC Secretary General Mr Hissein Brahim Taha, gave a remark at the occasion.

The Secretary General observed that this year’s celebration comes at a delicate and critical moment with regard to the Palestinian question. This is because Israel, the occupying power, continues practices that entrench its colonial occupation of Palestinian lands through hostile policies, forced expulsion, ethnic cleansing, settlement, Judaization, land expropriation, destruction of property, continued blockade of Gaza, and denial of the Palestinian people’s national and legitimate rights.

He reiterated the OIC’s rejection and condemnation of all illegal Israeli occupation’s measures and practices to impose new realities on the ground. These include changing the demographic configuration of occupied Al-Quds, obliterating its Arab identity, expelling Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan districts, desecrating their holy sites, violating their freedom of worship, and attempting to separate the city from its Palestinian surroundings.

On his part, the Consul General of the State of Palestine in Jeddah, Mahmoud Yahya Al-Asadi, stated that these inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to exist and live dignified life on their land and national soil, taken away from them by the oppressive occupier is non-negotiable. These rights, he said, have been stipulated in divine law and international resolutions, as well as human rights principles and United Nations resolutions.

The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the OIC, Ambassador Maher Karaki, noted that the commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity comes 73 years after the catastrophe of 1948 and 54 years after the 1967 occupation. Throughout these years, he said, the Palestinian people have continued to suffer systematic violations and aggression by Israel, the occupying power.