Online Desk: Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud is attending an extraordinary meeting of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Jeddah today to discuss the continued Israeli aggression against Palestinian people.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is holding the meeting at the headquarters of its General Secretariat in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

From Türkiye, Foreign Minister Hasan traveled to Jeddah to attend the meeting.

The preparatory Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) for the extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC-CFM) was held at the headquarters of the OIC’s General Secretariat on Monday.

Ambassador Samir Bakr, the Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and Al-Quds Affairs delivered the General Secretariat’s speech, referring to the horrific massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces, which claimed the lives of hundreds while they were waiting to receive food aid at the end of February.

Bakr said that this massacre constituted an example and witness to the war crimes practiced by the Israeli occupation army, which necessitates redoubling legal efforts, especially at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, as they are a legitimate and effective tool for holding the Israeli occupation accountable.

Bakr also said that Israel, the occupying power, continuing to carry out bloody crimes and massacres against the Palestinian people calls for a more effective movement with a more profound impact on the international arena, with the aim of confronting this brutal Israeli aggression by all legitimate and possible means, including political, legal, and media efforts, in implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Joint Arab and Islamic Summit held on November 11, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The SOM will submit its draft resolution to the extraordinary OIC-CFM for adoption at the OIC’s headquarters today (Tuesday).

OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha is expected to address the opening session of the OIC meeting.

In November last year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted the extraordinary joint Arab and Islamic Summit, in Riyadh, jointly organized by the OIC and the League of Arab States.

The Conference adopted a number of decisions, in particular assigning a committee of the Foreign Ministers of Member States, to tour world capitals and international organizations in order to stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

As part of its continued efforts to stop the brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people since October 7, the OIC also held an open-ended executive committee extraordinary meeting at the foreign minister level, at its headquarters on October 18 last year.

During his participation in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye on March 1-3, the Foreign Minister described the event as a significant platform for international dialogue.

At the Forum, Hasan emphasized the urgent need for a collective effort to end the ongoing genocide in Gaza, holding Israel accountable for committing crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

In an interview with TRT World, Hasan highlighted the lack of sufficient global action to halt the violence and atrocities in Gaza.

“What’s happening in Gaza is simply crimes against humanity. Not only crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing is going on,” he stated, pointing out the devastating toll on civilians, with over 30,000 people, predominantly women and children, killed in the conflict.

The Foreign Minister said they have not seen enough effort to stop this “war and genocide” and Israel is violating all the norms of any war.

Representing Bangladesh at the Forum in Türkiye, Hasan underscored the potential of the global community gathered there to play a pivotal role in addressing these atrocities.

“I think we can raise our united voices to stop these atrocities, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in Gaza and stop Israel,” he was heard saying in the video interview.

The Forum, initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and under the patronage of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, ended on March 3.

This year’s edition convenes heads of state, government officials, diplomats, business leaders, academics, and representatives from various sectors to discuss “Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil”, the theme for this year.