OIC urges UN human rights chief to condemn Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to condemn Israeli onslaught on worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

In a letter submitted to High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet through the Pakistani mission in Geneva, the OIC urged the international community "to call on Israel to immediately halt its crimes against the Palestinian people, fully respect the historic and legal status quo" of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The pan-Muslim grouping also called on the OHCHR to "condemn Israel’s grave human rights abuses in & around occupied East Jerusalem & call for accountability of Israeli oppression."

Tension has mounted across the Palestinian territories since last week when Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard and attacked worshippers, injuring hundreds.

Daily settler incursions into the flashpoint site to celebrate the week-long Jewish Passover holiday have further inflamed the situation.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.