We, the Kings and Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), gathering at the Seventh
Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Istanbul,
Republic of Turkey, on 3 Ramadan 1439 AH – 18 May 2018 CE upon the
invitation of the President of Turkey, H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the
Chair of the Thirteenth Session of the Islamic Summit, in response to the
grave developments in the State of Palestine, as a result of the ongoing
Israeli brutal aggression against the Palestinian people and the illegal
inauguration of the U.S. embassy in Al-Quds;
Having reviewed
the alarming situation and growing tensions in the occupied territory of
the State of Palestine,
Expressing
our profound appreciation to H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for
calling for the convening and hosting of this extraordinary Islamic Summit
on an issue of such importance for Ummah
Commending
the resolutions on the cause of Palestine and al-Quds Al-Sharıf, the
capital of the State of Palestine, adopted by the 45th Session
of Council of Foreign Ministers on 5-6 May 2018 in Dhaka,
Welcoming
resolutions adopted on Palestine and Al-Quds al-Sharif by the 29th Arab League Summit held in Dhahran and appreciate naming it as “Al-Quds Summit” by the Custodian
of the two holy mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud,
Emphasizing
that the central mission and raison d'être of the OIC is
protecting the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, its historic and legal status,
its spiritual place, and to take all necessary measures to put an end to
the violations committed by Israel and any party that supports this regime
and its colonial and racist policies,
Proceeding
from the historical, moral and legal responsibility placed on the Muslim
Ummah and in full solidarity with Palestine and its people,
1. Condemn in the strongest terms the criminal actions of
Israeli forces against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where unarmed Palestinian
civilians are exercising their legitimate right of peaceful protest against
this inhumane and absolutely illegal occupation; and hold
Israel, the occupying Power, fully accountable for the grave atrocities in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the latest episode of
willful murder of at least 60 civilians, and injuring of nearly 2700 others
on 14 May.
2. Declare that these acts constitute savage crimes
committed by the Israeli forces with the backing of the U.S.
Administration, including through shielding the Israeli occupation in the
UN Security Council from accountability; also note that
these crimes have been committed against the backdrop of the illegal
decision by the U.S. Administration to officially move its embassy from
Israel to the occupied City of Jerusalem, which has further emboldened the
Israeli government in its reckless behavior towards civilian Palestinian
population.
3. Call on the international community, in particular the
UN Security Council, to uphold its legal obligations to defend the
international law and order as they relate to Palestine; to act in line
with its legal and moral obligation to ensure accountability for these
unchecked crimes that Israel, the occupying power, is carrying out with
impunity; and to put an end to these atrocities, and to provide
international protection for the Palestinian people.
4. Call for the international protection of the
Palestinian population including through dispatching of international
protection force.
5. Request the OIC General Secretariat to act immediately
to establish an international independent Committee of Experts to
investigate the crimes and massacres committed by the Israeli forces
against the peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in the Gaza Strip, to
determine the culpability of the Israeli officials and communicate the
findings to relevant international bodies.
6. Call upon the UN Security Council, the UN General
Assembly, the UN Secretary General, UN Human Rights Council, the special
rapporteurs and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take necessary
actions to form an international investigation committee into the recent
atrocities in the Gaza Strip, and enable the committee to initiate field
investigation, within a precise timeframe, and ensuring enacting a clear
mechanism to determine the culpability of the Israeli officials with a view
to ensuring justice for the victims and put an end to the impunity of the
perpetrators.
7. Call on the UN Security Council, the General Assembly
and the Human Rights Council to uphold their responsibilities in this
regard and invite all countries to mobilize their efforts
to bring this issue to the agenda of the UN General Assembly, the UN
Security Council, and the Human Rights Council urgently.
8. Appreciate the role of the state of Kuwait as a
non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its
immediate reaction to the bloody events in Gaza and its request to the
Security Council for an emergency meeting on 15 May 2018, welcoming the
Kuwaiti steps by proposing a draft resolution on the protection of
civilians regretting the block from the United States for the press
statement in response to those unfortunate events.
9. Reaffirm the need to coordinate and work together with
the international and regional organizations, including the Arab League,
the European Union and the African Union on this issue.
10. Reaffirm the centrality of the Palestinian cause and
the status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to the Muslim Ummah; renew
our principled support for the Palestinian people in their pursuit to
attain their inalienable national rights, including their right to
self-determination and the establishment of their independent and sovereign
Palestinian State on the borders of 4 June 1967, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as
its capital; and invite all countries to officially
recognize the State of Palestine.
11. Reiterate our rejection of the illegal decision of the
President of the United States to recognize Al-Quds as the so-called
capital of Israel, the occupying power; reject it as
legally null and void and violation of international legitimacy
resolutions; consider it an assault on the historical,
legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people and a
deliberate attempt to undermine all peace prospects, threatening
international peace and security.
Condemn
the inauguration of the U.S. embassy in Al-Quds and consider it an act of provocation and hostility against
the Muslim Ummah, Palestinian national rights and flagrant violations of
international law as well as an assault on the international order,
including the UN, that further emboldens Israel, the occupying power, to
step up its illegal and criminal actions against the Palestinian people.
12. Reaffirm our position that Al-Quds shall remain the
eternal capital of Palestine and that the inauguration of the U.S. embassy
in Al Quds neither alters the legal status of the occupied City, nor
legitimizes its illegal annexation by Israel, the occupying power.
13. Affirm support for the historical Hashemite
Custodianship assumed by His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussain on
Muslim and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds, which was reaffirmed by the
agreement signed between His Majesty King Abdullah II and His Excellency
Mahmud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine on 31 March 2013; and for
the role of the Jordanian Department of Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque Islamic
Waqf in preserving and defending Al-Haram Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
14.
Praise
the continuous efforts exerted by his Majesty King Mohammad VI King of
Morocco, Chair of al-Quds Committee, in defending the holy city and
supporting the resilience of the Palestinian people, and applaud efforts made by Bayt Mal al-Quds Agency of al-Quds
Committee.
15. Consider that any state that follows, accepts or
acquiesces in the U.S. Administration’s move or any similar step adopted by
other countries is complicit in undermining international law and order; express our determination to respond to these shameful
actions with appropriate measures; and decide to take all
necessary steps to prevent other countries from following the illegal U.S.
example by transferring their embassies to Al-Quds; and in this regards
condemns the relocation by Guatemala of its embassy to Al-Quds, and declare our determination to take the appropriate
political, economic and other measures against countries which recognize
Al-Quds as the capital of Israel or relocate their embassies thereto.
Mandate
the General Secretariat to prepare recommendations on appropriate measures
that can be implemented in this regard.
16. Call upon all Member States to openly condemn such
action and to pursue all available legal and diplomatic avenues to defend
Palestinian national rights from all hostile and illegal actions from the
United States or any other party, and to support decisions adopted recently
by the Palestinian leadership to advance the Palestinian rights.
17. Affirm that countries running for international posts
seeking the OIC’s support for their candidature will be assessed based on
their positions regarding the Palestine question, in particular on
Jerusalem.
18. Insist on the OIC Member States to be responsive to
OIC resolutions on the Palestinian cause and to commit to voting for our
common cause, and to taking actions that would contribute to defending this
just cause, and call for necessary action to be taken
against those failing to comply.
19. Request Member States, the OIC General Secretariat and
the OIC subsidiary organs and specialized and affiliated institutions to
take the necessary measures to apply the economic restriction to countries,
officials, parliaments, companies or individuals who recognize the
annexation of Al-Quds by Israel, the occupying Power, and follow the
decision of the US Administration to move its embassy to Al-Quds al-Sharif,
or deal with any measures related to the consecration of Israeli
colonization of the occupied Palestinian.
20. Call on Member States and the wider international
community to ban the products of the illegal Israeli settlements from
entering their markets, take measures against individuals and entities
involved in or beneficiaries of the perpetuation of occupation and
settlement regime,
21. Decide to take all available measures and to pursue
all possible political, legal and diplomatic avenues to defend the
legitimate rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people from Israel’s
entrenched regime of colonization and aggression as well as states that
defend and sponsor this regime of oppression;
22. Demand that the United States to adhere to the
international legitimacy resolutions of the city of al Quds which
represents an integral part of the Palestinian Territory occupied in 1967,
and invite it to urge Israel, the occupying power, to stop
its colonial plans and serious violations that constitute a threat to peace
and security in the region and the entire world.
23. Urge the U.S to stand against the Israeli colonial
occupation and to be impartial in achieving the comprehensive peace based
on relevant UN resolutions, the international law, the peace process terms
of reference, the Arab Peace Initiative and the principle of two-state
solution, at all times as part of collective multilateral efforts.
24. Reaffirm our adherence to all resolutions adopted by
the regular and extraordinary sessions of the Islamic Summit on the Cause
of Palestine and the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in particular the Fifth
Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference held in Jakarta on 6
March 2016 and the
Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference on Al-Quds Al-Sharif held in
Istanbul on 13 December 2017,
and call on the Member States to ensure respect to these
resolutions in their daily discourses and foreign policy agenda, especially
in their dealing with counterparts in other parts of the world and at the
international organizations.
25. Reiterate that we will continue to act in line with
international law and cooperate with states that share our values to defend
the international law and international system, and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the two-state
solution, which is the only acceptable international solution in the
context of self-determination, and international law and existing UN
resolutions-in accordance with the international terms of reference and the
2002 Arab Peace Initiative endorsed by the Islamic Extraordinary Summit in
2005 in Makkah; support in this regard the Palestinian
political initiative as presented by H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, President of
the State of Palestine, before the Security Council on the 20 February
2018.
26. Stress our determination to allocate all necessary
resources to resist any attempt to change the Islamic and Christian
identity – or falsify the history of –the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif,
including by working together with UNESCO which has designated The Old City
of Jerusalem and Its Walls as a World Heritage, and condemn in this regard
the continuing Israeli occupation aimed at changing the historical status
quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound as well as other religious and holy sites in
the city of Al-Quds, including, through the continuing raids by Israeli
occupation forces and permitting Israeli terrorist settler groups to
desecrate the holy Mosque Compound on daily basis.
27. Call for the implementation of previous OIC
resolutions regarding financing the multi-sectoral strategic plan on
Al-Quds, as a framework for determining the priorities of Islamic financing
for the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif; call also on Member
States to support the needs of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, its institutions and
people in line with the revised strategic plan 2018-2022 and to support the
projects included therein, including in particular supporting the
educational sector, and mandate the General Secretariat to
follow up on the implementation of this plan in coordination with the State
of Palestine.
28. Underline the special importance of the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
which provides vital services to more than 5.3 million Palestinian
refugees, and urge the Member States to increase their support to UNRWA’s
initiatives to maintain its sustainable budget.
29. Welcome the establishment of a Developmental Waqf
Fund, as concluded in the preliminary study submitted by the Islamic
Development Bank, as a means of further supporting the Palestinian refugees
and host countries, enhancing the collective support of the Member States
and ensuring the consistent and sustainable funding of the UNRWA operations
in the field of humanitarian relief, development and social protection and urge the Member States to expedite the operationalization
of the Developmental Waqf Fund.
30. Reiterate our support for the inalienable right of the
Palestine refugees to return to their homes, in line with UN General
Assembly resolution 194; reaffirm also the need to recognize the crimes of
ethnic cleansing and murder against the Palestinian people during the
NAKBA, which took place seventy years ago, as a necessary first step to
achieving justice and peace.
ABAB-18-05-18(09-58)