OIC observes Solidarity Day with Palestinian People
JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) celebrated the International day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people in Jeddah on Thursday.
The event was attended by Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen, OIC secretarygeneral; Ambassador Mahmoud Al-Asadi, consul general of the State of Palestine in Jeddah; Dr. Maher Karaki, permanent representative of Palestine to the organization; and members of the diplomatic corps and local journalists.
Mahmoud Al-Asadi stressed that Jerusalem was the eternal capital of Palestine.
“Allah has forever painted the historical relationship between the Muslims and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem was and will always remain the eternal Arab Islamic capital of the State of Palestine,” he said.
He told Arab News: “On Dec. 6, Donald Trump, the president of the United States, recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel … However, this decision... does not make any difference because our right in Jerusalem is a clear and fixed right.”
Participants at the OIC event said the day was a firm commitment to support the struggle of the Palestinian people and their efforts to restore their full legitimate national rights. Global solidarity with the Palestinian cause was based on the principles of justice, freedom, equal rights and dignity.
The General Secretariat organized a photo gallery of the Israel-Palestine conflict for the event, and a folklore exhibition on the sidelines of its presentation. The event also included the viewing an award-winning documentary called “Roadmap To Apartheid.” Its first-time directors took a detailed look at the apartheid analogy commonly used to describe the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.
The secretary-general welcomed positive developments concerning Palestinian national reconciliation, including the assumption by the Palestinian Reconciliation Government of its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the UN on or around Nov. 29 each year, in accordance with General Assembly mandates contained in the resolutions of Dec. 2, 1977, and Dec. 12, 1979, and subsequent resolutions adopted under the agenda item “Question of Palestine.”
Nov. 29 was chosen because of its significance to the Palestinian people. On that day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted a resolution, which came to be known as the Partition Resolution.
That resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State,” with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime.