OIC calls urgent ministerial summit on Palestine

By Diana Chalhoub

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called an emergency ministerial meeting on Sunday to discuss the Israeli attacks on Palestinian territories.

“The OIC will hold, at the request of Saudi Arabia — the chair of the Islamic summit— a virtual emergency ministerial meeting to discuss developments in Palestine,” the second largest international organization after the UN comprising of 57 member countries, said in a statement.

The summit will bring together foreign ministers from member countries to discuss the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territories, the press release said, adding that talks will particularly focus on developments in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and “the acts of violence carried out by Israel in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Tensions have been running high since an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of the neighborhood have been targeted by Israeli forces.

The occupying forces also raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque during special night prayers for the fasting month of Ramadan.

The subsequent escalation of tensions resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, leaving at least 87 Palestinians dead and 530 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.​​​

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara