JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers on Monday condemned the “serious escalation and repeated racist attacks” being carried out by Israeli occupation forces and groups of Jewish extremist settlers on Al-Aqsa Holy Mosque.

In a meeting chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at the Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, the Council stressed that “these attacks and policies represent a flagrant provocation to the feelings of Muslims.”

It said the acts of Israelis is a “violation of all international conventions and the principles of human rights, increasing the deterioration of the situation and its complication and undermining the chances for peace.”

Culture and Information Minister Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the Council renewed the Kingdom’s call on the United Nations Security Council “to move quickly to put an end to all Israeli violations and systematic crimes against the Palestinian people.”

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also denounced air strikes carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, OIC Secretary General Iyad bin Amin Madani said Israel's unlawful blockade imposed on Gaza is a “collective punishment” against the Palestinian people and a “crime against humanity” that should be put to an end immediately.

Madani also urged the international community, especially the UN Security Council, “to intervene and take necessary measures to force Israel to stop its crimes and aggression against the Palestinian people, and to find measures a political solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy.”