Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has reaffirmed Pakistan’s principled position that the establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital is imperative to usher in peace and stability in the Middle East.

He was addressing meeting of the OIC Committee of Six on Palestine at the level of foreign ministers on the sidelines of 78th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The Foreign Minister led the Pakistan delegation, while the meeting was chaired by the Secretary General of the OIC and attended by Ministers and high officials from Palestine, Turkiye, Guinea, Malaysia and Senegal.

 The Foreign Minister noted with deep concern the continued deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including occupied Jerusalem, in particular Al-Aqsa Mosque or Al-Haram Al-Sharif.  He strongly condemned the Israeli atrocities, including the killing of innocent civilians, storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, expansion of illegal settlements, settler violence, administrative detentions and airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip that were in complete disregard for human rights and rule of law.

Jalil Abbas Jilani underlined the need to hold Israel accountable for its ongoing illegal actions and acts of aggression for meaningful deterrence and in this regard, welcomed the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution passed on December 31, 2022, which called upon the International Court of Justice to provide an opinion on the legal ramifications of Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territories.

 The meeting also urged the international community to protect the Palestinians against the blatant and illegal use of force and flagrant violations of human rights and urgently take concerted actions to stop Israeli atrocities against the civilian population.

The meeting also proposed the forming of a joint group open to all OIC Member States to promote implementation of the Committee’s decisions.