Muslim states urge int’l protection force for Palestinians
Muslim leaders called for an international force to be deployed to protect Palestinian people against Israeli crimes after more than 60 people were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza Strip.
In a final communiqué issued following an emergency meeting in Istanbul on Friday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the May 14 massacre of dozens of Gazans as “savage crimes committed by the Israeli forces with the backing of the US administration.”
It also urged the UN to “form an international investigation committee into the recent atrocities in the Gaza Strip, and enable the committee to initiate field investigation.”
The OIC further demanded “the international protection of the Palestinian population including through dispatching of international protection force” in the face of “unchecked crimes” committed by the Tel Aviv regime.
Israeli forces killed at least 62 Palestinians during protests near the Gaza fence on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US Embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied Al-quds.
More than 2,700 Palestinians were also wounded as the Israeli forces used snipers, airstrikes, tank fire and tear gas to target the demonstrators.
In an address to the OIC summit, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah underlined the necessity to provide international protection for his countrymen.
“We stress on the need for immediate action to help provide international protection for the Palestinian people which has been suffering for a century from a barbaric and oppressive aggression at the hands of the Israeli occupation authorities,” he said.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani offered six practical initiatives for countering Israel’s antimuslim policies and stopping the regime from resorting to barbaric crimes.
Addressing the OIC summit, President Rouhani lashed out at the Israeli regime for challenging the global community before the tearful eyes of the world by trampling on human dignity and belittling all values, his official website reported.
“If the Zionist regime is surrounded by developed and democratic countries and faces a united Ummah (Islamic community), it will never be able to continue its crimes in such relief,” the president deplored.
Additionally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for sending “an international peace force to the people of Palestine, who are losing their young children to Israeli terror every day.”
Kuwait circulated among the UN Security Council member states a draft resolution calling for the dispatch of an “international protection mission” to shield Palestinian civilians.
The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) also convened on Friday, demanding an “independent, international commission of inquiry” into the Gaza killings and denouncing “the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force” by Israeli forces against Palestinians.
During a pro-palestine rally in Istanbul, Erdogan urged Muslim unity to counter the Tel Aviv regime, saying it is time for the Muslim world to take a “physical stance on Israel.”
The Turkish president further stressed that Washington “only creates more problems” than it solves.
Last December, American President Donald Trump recognized Al-quds as the “capital” of Israel. Earlier this week, the US transferred its embassy to Al-quds despite condemnations worldwide.
Press TV and Tasnim News Agency contributed to this story.
Canete said preserving the 2015 nuclear deal, despite the US decision to withdraw, was “fundamental for peace in the region”.
“For sure there are clear difficulties with the sanctions,” Canete said.
“We will have to ask for waivers, for carveouts for the companies that make investments.
“We will try to intensify our flows of trade that have been very positive for the Iranian economy,” he said.
Salehi acknowledged Europe’s efforts to maintain the nuclear deal.
“We see the European Union... is making an extensive effort. They have promised to do so, and God willing, they will put that into practice,” Salehi told reporters.
He said his country hoped the EU would manage to salvage the deal, in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of Western sanctions.
“We hope their efforts materialize... America’s actions... show that it is not a trustworthy country in international dealings,” Salehi told the joint news conference in Tehran.
Since Trump’s announcement on May 8 about the US exit, European countries have said they will try to keep Iran’s oil and investment flowing, but have also admitted they will struggle to provide the guarantees Tehran seeks.
Salehi, echoing Iran’s official stance, ruled out any possibility of renegotiating the accord.
He said Iran had several options, including resuming its 20 percent uranium enrichment, if the European countries failed to keep the pact alive. He said the EU had only a few weeks to deliver on their promises.
“If the other side keeps itself committed to its promises we also will be keeping ourselves to our promises... We hope the situation will not arise to the point that we will have to go back to the worst option,” Salehi told reporters in English.
Under the 2015 deal, Iran’s level of enrichment must remain at around 3.6 percent. Iran stopped producing 20 percent enriched uranium as part of the agreement.
“Unfortunately because of the negative interferences of the US, we were not able to reap the fruits of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) we expected,” Salehi said.
“So the public opinion is not as supportive as it was before and if the other side does not deliver... we will keep losing the support of our people for the JCPOA.”
European leaders have vowed to maintain the deal and introduce measures to encourage trade and protect EU firms from US sanctions.
On Friday, the European Commission launched the process of activating a law that bans European companies from complying with US sanctions against Iran and does not recognize any court rulings that enforce American penalties.
“As the European Commission we have the duty to protect European companies. We now need to act and this is why we are launching the process of to activate the ‘blocking statute’ from 1996. We will do that tomorrow morning at 1030,” European Commission President Jeanclaude Juncker said on Thursday.
“We also decided to allow the European Investment Bank to facilitate European companies’ investment in Iran. The commission itself will maintain its cooperation will Iran,” Juncker told a news conference after a meeting of EU leaders.
Iran’s trade with the European Union is around 20 billion euros, evenly split between imports and exports.
The vast majority of EU purchases from Iran – 90 percent – is oil purchases, going primarily to Spain, France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Germany.
Iran, which has the world’s fourth-biggest oil reserves, produces some 3.8 million barrels of oil per day, 70 percent of which goes to China and other Asian countries, and 20 percent to Europe.
It also has the second-biggest gas reserves in the world, but limited infrastructure means little is exported.
Russia and China – the other parties to the nuclear deal – have also vowed to maintain trade with Iran, and because they are less exposed to US markets, are less vulnerable to economic pressure from Washington.
Reuters and AFP contributed to this story.