UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM JOINT DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF D-8 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
By Muhammed Enes Calli
ISTANBUL (AA) — The D-8 Council of Ministers on Saturday called for an "immediate, permanent, unconditional" cease-fire and an end to Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in the besieged enclave.
The joint declaration also called on all countries to ensure Israel's strict adherence to provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
D-8 nations "affirm the unwavering support of D-8 Member States to the struggle of the Palestinian people to realize their inalienable rights, the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations and all the resolutions related to the Palestinian Cause in international fora," the statement said.
The statement reiterated all the resolutions of the UN and other international organizations concerning Palestine, the crimes of the Israeli forces, the entitlement of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence throughout all territories occupied since 1967.
"Underlining the centrality of the Palestinian Cause, and that we stand with all our capacities and capabilities alongside the brotherly Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to liberate all their occupied territories and to fulfill all their inalienable rights and to live in their independent, sovereign and contiguous state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital," the statement said.
The statement said countries reaffirmed "that a just, lasting and comprehensive peace is the only path to guarantee security and stability for all the peoples of the region and protect them from the spiral of violence and wars, and will not be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation and settling the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution."
"We condemn in the strongest terms the brutal and inhuman Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as well as in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem," it added.
The statement urged all states, especially given the "ongoing genocide" and serious violations of international law and humanitarian norms, to pressure and take necessary action to halt crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians.
- D-8 nations urge US to end its veto on Palestine's full membership in UN
The statement also demanded all countries stop giving weapons and ammunitions to Israel and urged the US to end its veto on Palestine's full membership in the UN as an independent and sovereign state.
It demanded to complete lifting the Israeli siege on Gaza and condemned the killing of over 100 journalists and over 200 humanitarian aid workers by Israel since October 2023.
D-8 nations also strongly rejected any attempt to forcibly displace or transfer Palestinians from their land and called for their unconditional return home.
The joint declaration underscored Israel's responsibility as the occupying power to fulfill its obligations and cease all illegal actions perpetuating the occupation particularly settlement activities and the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
The Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers was held in Istanbul on Saturday to discuss the situation in Gaza.