The Organization of Islamic Cooperation said Thursday that the statements of the European Union President, Ursula von der Leyen, in which she congratulated Israel on its seventy-fifth “independence,” were disappointing and not in line with human rights and international law.
The Jeddah-based organization expressed strong displeasure at the statement of the EU President, saying it contained disappointing political and historical references that are at variance with the Union’s positions based on human rights, international law, and UN resolutions.
The OIC asserted that these statements ignore historical, political, and legal facts dating back thousands of years and coincide with the commemoration of the Nakbah (catastrophe) for the territory and people of Palestine.
The statement noted that it “continues to be a dark spot on humanity’s memory and conscience and a denigration of the values of freedom and justice, following the declaration establishing Israel, the colonial occupation force, and the ensuing policies of racial cleansing, forced expulsion, oppression, confiscation of Palestinians’ properties and the deprivation of their legitimate rights.”
The organization called on the EU to honor its “political, legal, and humanitarian responsibilities towards ending the Israeli colonial occupation and correcting the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people."
It also urged supporting Palestinians' legitimate rights, including the right to return, and realizing the establishment of their independent state on the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Furthermore, the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem reported that dozens of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday from the Mughrabi Gate under police protection.
The Department said that the settlers forced their way into the Mosque as groups, carried out provocative tours in its courtyards, listened to presentations about the structure of the compound, and performed Talmudic rituals in its eastern region.
Wafa News Agency reported that the occupation police intensified their deployment inside Al-Aqsa and at its gates to secure the settlers’ incursions and checked the ID cards of people arriving at the Mosque.
