OIC Ministerial Preparatory Meeting for Summit Begins with Qatar Participation

Istanbul, May 18 (QNA) - Foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states held Friday the preparatory meeting for extraordinary summit, to be held later to denounce Israel's Gaza killings and the US Embassy relocating to Jerusalem. Qatar's delegation to the meeting is headed by HE Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, . Speaking at the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called "the shameful incidents" in Jerusalem "the final straw." Cavusoglu said what happened in Gaza deeply saddened everyone, adding that nobody with a conscience could remain silent on "the picture of shame" in Gaza. "We must ensure that the Israeli authorities and Israeli soldiers who point guns at defenseless people are held accountable," Cavusoglu said. "In the declaration at the end of the summit, we will shout out that we won't allow any change to Jerusalem's historical status," Cavusoglu said. "As an ummah (community) in solidarity, we must give the strongest reaction to Israel's crime against humanity," he added. For his part, OIC Secretary General Yousef al-Othaimeen, for his part, said in an opening speech that what Israel did along the Gaza fence was "a war crime and a crime against humanity." "Targeting the defenseless Palestinian people is a stark violation of international law which constitutes a full-blown war crime and a crime against humanity according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," he said. "What Israel did is a kind of aggression that Israel should be held accountable for," he added. He added: "International protection for the Palestinian people became an urgent need as the UN's Security Councils failure to issue a statement condemning the Israeli massacre is a shame on our civilized world." On the U.S. relocation of its embassy to Jerusalem, al-Othaimeen called it "a violation of international law." "This move has led to the aggravation of the situation, as we warned earlier on various occasions," he added. The Istanbul summit, called by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is expected to issue a strong message against the Israeli violence that killed at least 62 Palestinians.(QNA)