Foreign Minister: “The atrocities Suffered by Palestinians Following Israeli Bombings Are Beyond Anything We Can Imagine”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, and Mauritanians Abroad stressed that the atrocities that the Palestinian people are facing due to the continuous bombing by Israel of civilians, their homes, their places of worship, their hospitals, and their schools amid a brutal siege that deprives citizens of food, fuel, and water, are unimaginable.
Mr. Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, who spoke on 18 October before an extraordinary emergency meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, highlighted the need to take a fair position on current challenges faced by the first cause of the Islamic Umma, the Palestinian cause.
He reiterated Mauritania’s constant position on the Palestinian issue, calling for the need to find a definitive solution to this issue which preserves the legitimate right of the brotherly Palestinian people to sovereignty and dignity within the framework of an independent state with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions.
Below is the Minister’s speech:
“I thank my brother Faisal bin Farhan for convening this emergency meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at ministerial level to discuss the dangerous developments in the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The situation in the occupied Palestinian territories has reached an unprecedented level of deterioration.
The magnitude of the atrocities to which the Palestinian people are subjected following Israel’s continued bombing of civilians, their homes, places of worship, hospitals, and schools under a brutal siege that deprives citizens of food,
fuel, and water is unimaginable.
These atrocities culminated yesterday, Tuesday, with the deliberate bombing by Israel of the El Maamedani hospital in Gaza City, which caused hundreds of martyrs and injuries among sick Palestinian civilians, visitors to this medical establishment, and other
‘others.
This is a war crime which clearly reflects the occupation’s disengagement from moral standards and the most basic principles of international humanitarian law.
In this sad circumstance my country immediately declared three days of mourning.
Has the world lost its mind? Where are the human rights? What does it mean to ignore this tragedy on an international scale? What is the meaning of the failure of the UN Security Council and its inability to assume its responsibilities by adopting a resolution commensurate with the event and demanding an end to the war crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation? What does it mean to close the Gaza crossings to prevent the arrival of any humanitarian aid, and for Israel to give Gaza residents the choice between displacement and destruction?
Our meeting today in Jeddah, near the Holy Places and the city of our Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), should inspire us to take the right stand on the current challenges facing
the primary cause of the Islamic nation, the Palestinian cause.
In this regard, we believe it is necessary to send a clear message to the international community including, in particular:
-The firm condemnation of the silence on the daily massacres committed by the Israeli army against unarmed Palestinian citizens, the latest of which is the massacre at El Maamedani hospital;
– Calling on the international community to fully assume its responsibilities and force the Israeli occupying forces to stop their brutal aggression against the Palestinian people;
– Demanding the lifting of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the opening of crossing points for humanitarian aid and various relief items;
– Calling for action to ensure international protection for the Palestinian people.
In this context, Mauritania reiterates its constant position regarding the Palestinian question, and the need to find a definitive solution to it which preserves the legitimate right of the brotherly Palestinian people to sovereignty and dignity within the framework of
an independent state with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions.”
The OIC Executive Committee held, on 18 October, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, an extraordinary meeting at the level of foreign ministers to discuss developments in the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people and work toward the adoption of a unified position to put an end to this heinous aggression, which has caused numerous human and material losses.”