Saudi Arabia accuses Israel of ‘flagrant violations’ against Palestinians

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia led Arab and Muslim condemnation on Sunday of Israel’s “barbaric attacks” on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

The Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that Israel had committed “flagrant violations” against the Palestinians.

“Israel is committing flagrant violations against the Palestinians. We condemn Israeli takeover of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem,” Prince Faisal said in his opening speech during the emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“East Jerusalem is Palestinian land that we do not accept harm to. The international community must intervene urgently to put an end to Israeli practices.”

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister also condemned what he called the violation of the sanctity of Islamic holy sites and “forcible” eviction of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.

He called on the international community to carry out its responsibility toward ending this “dangerous escalation,” to act urgently to halt military operations and to revive peace negotiations based on a two-state solution.

Prince Faisal likewise called on the “international community to shoulder its responsibilities in front of Israel’s violations.”

“The international community must intervene urgently to put an end to Israeli practices,” Prince Faisal said.

The OIC condemned “in the strongest terms Israel’s brutal aggression” against the Palestinian people.

It called for an immediate halt to attacks on civilians, which were “a violation of international law and UN resolutions.”

The organization held Israel “fully responsible for the deterioration of the situation caused by its systematic crimes against the Palestinian people across all occupied Palestinian Territories, in particular, the extensive barbaric military attack on the Gaza Strip.”

Emirati and Bahraini ministers at the virtual gathering of the 57-member OIC called for a ceasefire and stressed the importance of preserving the identity of Jerusalem, which contains sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

“De-escalation and the highest degree of restraint are important to avoid dragging the region to new levels of instability,” said UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy.

At the UN in New York, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded for an immediate end to the “utterly appalling” violence, and warned that the fighting could plunge the region into an “uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis.”

Guterres told the Security Council: “Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately.”

Pope Francis called on Sunday for an end to the conflict in Israel and Gaza, saying the deaths of so many innocent people in recent days, including children, was unacceptable.

“I appeal for calm, and for those responsible to end the clamor of weapons and to take the path of peace,” he said in a weekly address to faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square.

“Many innocent people have died, amongst them there are also children. This is terrible. Unacceptable. Their death is a sign that (people) don’t want to build a future, but destroy it … I wonder where hatred and revenge will lead?”