In a press conference after the opening session of the International Conference on Jerusalem, currently being held in Jakarta, al-Maliki said the conflict was a political one, restricted between Palestinians and Israelis, while the other players were providing support from afar.
But, al-Maliki added, after opening the floodgates, by turning the conflict into a religious one, all Muslims are required to join in the confrontation, as the issue will become a religious strife between Muslims and Jews, not between Palestinians and Israelis only. He stressed that Israel will bear responsibility for this conflict.
The two-day conference on Jerusalem, being held by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), jointly with the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) and the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, under the title “Addressing the Present and Shaping the Future of Jerusalem”, will discuss the latest development in Jerusalem, and the ways to enhance the international efforts to halt the unilateral Israeli actions against the Holy City and its residents.
In his speech to the conference, Riyad al-Maliki said that the world has failed to provide protection for the Palestinian people, just as it failed to provide accountability to the Israeli occupying power for the repeated aggressions on the Palestinians.
"The Palestinians, in turn, have repeatedly warned that the settlers' provocations against the Palestinian holy sites, and the Israeli actions to implement the temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque, would undermine the status quo," Al-Maliki said, pointing out that Jerusalem and its residents are being attacked through the demolition of their homes and seizure of their ID cards as well as the imposition of restrictions on them.
OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani, who also addressed the opening session, renewed the warning that the integrity and sanctity of the holy places in the Holy City of Jerusalem is closely linked to the security and stability of the region. He added that the continued Israeli aggressions would expand the circle of conflict to a religious dimension, for which Israel will solely bear the responsibility of its repercussions.
Madani demanded that the international community bear its responsibility to provide international protection for the Palestinian people against the unprecedented aggression and daily crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces.
The OIC Secretary General praised the European Union's position that supports the vision of the two-state solution, in particular the recent EU decision on labeling the goods and products originated from the Israeli settlements. He reiterated the need for the development of these procedures and enhancement of the political decisions, as well as an effective role by the EU and the international community, which would put pressure on Israel to halt all racial settlement activities that constitute a major obstacle to achieving peace based on the vision of the two-state solution.
Madani said that the international community is invited at this critical juncture to intervene responsibly. He added that it is imperative to sponsor a political path with the participation of active and influential international parties, starting with the adoption a UN Security Council resolution that provides a clear political reference and sets a specific timeline for ending the Israeli occupation, along with international guarantees and agreed upon mechanisms to implement the UN relevant resolutions.
Participants in the opening session include OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine Affairs Samir Bakr; UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia Douglas Broderick, representative of the UN Secretary General; Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League for Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Dr Said Abu Ali; and Deputy Chairman of CEIRPP Desra Percaya.
For her part, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi said Indonesia has spared no effort in supporting the Palestinian question at the United Nations through supporting the resolutions to accord Palestine non-member observer state status in November 2012, and its participation in the ceremony of Palestine flag-raising at the UN headquarters in New York, in addition to the provision of training and rehabilitation programs for the Palestinian police and security forces.
In turn, the Jordanian ambassador to Indonesia called on the international community to put an immediate end to the aggression of the Israeli occupation forces on the holy sites in Jerusalem, which would ignite tension that creates conditions conducive to threatening the international peace and security, besides nurturing extremism and providing resources for terrorist groups.
ZS/AB/IINA
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