MUSLIM NATIONS CRITICISE ISRAEL AS WELL AS EACH OTHER’S TIES TO THE COUNTRY

A league of Muslim nations on Sunday demanded that Israel halt attacks killing Palestinian civilians amid heavy fighting between it and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A statement by the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) backed the call for Palestinians to have their own nation.

However, recent normalisation deals between Israel and some Muslim nations saw diplomats criticise each other. “The massacre of Palestinian children today follows the purported normalisation,” Iran‘s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu echoed his call.

The video conference meeting saw some delegates turn their fire towards countries such as Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the UAE, Muslim nations that reached normalisation deals last year to recognise Israel.

While Egypt and Jordan earlier reached peace deals, supporters of the Palestinians criticised the new countries for recognising Israel.