JEDDAH, 29 December 2002 — A US Congress bill demanding the American Embassy in Israel be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will only heighten Muslim resentment, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) warned.
OIC Secretary-General Abdul Wahed Belqeziz voiced “particular concern because of the political and legal considerations stemming from this legislation which harm Islamic interests.” Last Monday, Bush signed into law the 2003 Foreign Relations Authorization Act but in an accompanying message made clear he would ignore provisions of the bill that would shift the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Such a move would recognize the disputed holy city as Israel’s capital leaving aside the Palestinians who demand control of East Jerusalem which Israel seized in the 1967 war.
The Bush administration had been urging lawmakers to take out the call for the relocation of the embassy, but Congress went ahead and included it. “This decision is in total contradiction with (UN) Security Council resolutions,” Belqeziz said in a statement in the name of the 57-member Islamic body based in Jeddah.
“Such an attitude from the American administration at a time when Israel is waging an unprecedented campaign against the Palestinian people is liable to exacerbate resentment among Muslims ... and is not liable to facilitate the role of the United States as co-sponsor of the Middle East peace process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Qatar, which holds the rotating chair of the OIC, called the congressional move “a flagrant violation of Security Council resolutions on Jerusalem and a provocation against the feelings of Islamic and Arab nations.”
The Qatar News Agency quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying it also ran counter to US policy “which considers that the final status of Jerusalem must be examined within the framework of peace negotiations.”
Israeli killings slammed: The OIC yesterday strongly condemned Israel's killings of Palestinians, accusing Tel Aviv of attempting to torpedo all peace proposals. Belkeziz condemned the "daily killings by Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territories despite a period of relative calm," achieved with the help of Palestinians.
He appealed to the international community and members of the diplomatic "quartet" on the Middle East -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- to "halt these (Israeli) aggressions and provide protection for the Palestinian people."
He deplored the "Israeli government's deliberate attempt to turn the killings into a topic in the Israeli election campaign." (AFP)
