DAKAR, 14 March 2008 — Senegal’s president, the new chairman of OIC, the world’s largest Muslim group, said yesterday he would make solving the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian crisis a priority for the organization.
“The just and legitimate cause of Palestine remains at the heart of our concerns,” Abdoulaye Wade told the leaders of dozens of Islamic nations at the OIC summit.
Wade called Israel “an occupying power” and urged its government to “immediately stop its disproportionate use of force.”
He added: “I should like to tell our Palestinian brothers and sisters of that your unity is the first priority of success .... Please unite.”
Addressing the summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said, “Jerusalem should be at the center of any dialogue aimed at resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Israel’s “inappropriate and disproportionate use of force” and called on the Jewish state to stop strikes that end up killing civilians. Highlighting the deaths of women and children in the Israeli attacks he said, “I condemn these acts and call on Israel to cease them.”
The Middle East has long been a core issue for OIC, which was founded in 1969 in response to an arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The group aims to promote Islamic unity and serve as a voice for the Muslim world.
The Palestinian delegation declared the summit a success even before it began, saying it had garnered key support from fellow Muslims.
A declaration drafted by foreign ministers to be adopted by the summit “reinforces support and backs Palestine, and condemns Israel for what it is doing in Gaza,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said.
— With input from agencies
