Pan-Islamic Organization Backs Efforts For UN Recognition Of Palestinian State

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday supported Palestinian efforts to win recognition from the United Nations for statehood.

Speaking at a press conference following the closing session of a two-day OIC summit in Banjul, Gambia, OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha reiterated support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been under a deadly Israeli offensive since last October.

Taha stressed the OIC "consensus regarding the people of Gaza's right to humanitarian aid" as well as "the Palestinian people's right to a state recognized by the United Nations with Jerusalem as its capital."

He said the pan-Islamic organization underlines the need to hold Israel accountable under international law for its actions and to support the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) "so that it can continue to play its vital role in Gaza."

Last month, the US vetoed a draft resolution requesting Palestine's full membership in the United Nations.

Türkiye, among others, has stressed that recognition of Palestine as a contiguous state on the pre-1967 borders is key to ending the bloodshed in the Middle East.

Israel has waged a brutal military offensive on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack led by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Writing by Ikram Kouachi -