In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem called on the OIC member states to take firm and serious steps to put an end to the zionist regime’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites.

The spokesman also called for effective international action to expose and criminalize the zionist regime’s vioaltions and support the Palestinian people’s struggle to liberate their land and regain their rights, especially the right of return.

OIC condemned, in an extraordinary meeting held on Tuesday at the request of Palestine and Jordan in the Saudi City of Jeddah, the persistent Israeli violations in Jerusalem and at the Aqsa Mosque.

In its statement, OIC said that all the resolutions adopted by the Islamic summits and its member states during previous meetings confirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause and the importance of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

OIC deplored the ongoing settler break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque and its recent exposure to provocative desecration by far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, describing such israeli practices against the holy site as “acts of disrespect for the Islamic countries” and “tampering with the historical and legal status quo in the holy city.”

OIC called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities in this regard and take urgent action to curb Israel’s escalation of its illegal practices in Occupied Jerusalem.

The Islamic organization also urged the Security Council permanent members to condemn the zionist regime’s irresponsible actions in the holy city and to impose sanctions on its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Its statement underlined that the Aqsa Mosque, with its 144 dunums of land, belongs exclusively to the Muslim nation and that Jordan’s Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Mosque Affairs Administration has exclusive jurisdiction over the management of the Aqsa Mosque and the regulation of entry to the site in accordance with the international law. (ILKHA)