A Dark Stain in the Human Conscience and a Continuing Setback to the Values of Freedom and Justice
JEDDAH, MAY 15 /DNA/ – This day, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recalls the 76th anniversary of the Nakba of Palestine’s land, people, and history, following the establishment of Israel, the colonial occupying power, and the accompanying crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, organized terrorism, forced displacement, deliberate destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages, and confiscation of land and property of the indigenous Palestinian people. The repercussions of the Nakba chapters continue to unfold in an unprecedented manner through crimes of murder, destruction, forced displacement, and genocide as a result of the continuing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, which led to the killing of more than 35,000 martyrs and about 79,000 wounded, the majority of whom are women, children, and the elderly.
On this occasion, the OIC affirms that this painful memory is still alive in the individual and collective memory of the Muslim Ummah, as a dark stain in the human conscience and a setback to the values of freedom and justice, due to the human tragedies, mass displacement, and denial of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people. The OIC reaffirms the responsibility of the international community towards the necessity of putting an end to the Israeli occupation and activating international justice mechanisms to hold Israel, the occupying power, accountable for the crimes it has committed against humanity, and to rectify the historical injustice that continues to befall the Palestinian people.
The OIC also expresses its gratitude and appreciation for the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and its tireless efforts in providing basic services to the Palestinian refugees, whose number is estimated at 6.5 million. The OIC further stresses the need for UNRWA’s continued role as an international living witness to the tragedy of refugees and embodiment of the commitment of the international community towards the implementation of UN resolutions, and the need to find a just and lasting solution to the issue of the Palestinian refugees.
On this occasion, the OIC pays a resounding tribute to the Palestinian people who, despite the repeated chapters and repercussions of this painful Nakba over the decades, were able to continue the path of their just struggle in all its forms, in order to defend their land, the cradle of civilizations, cultures, and divine religions, and to protect their national identity, continuing their efforts to embody their freedom, independence and sovereignty over their national territory.
On this occasion, the OIC reaffirms its unwavering support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is their right to return, and the establishment of their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.