Organization of Islamic Cooperation Condemns Israel's Recognition of ‘Somaliland’ and Affirms Support for Somalia's Unity and Firm Rejection of the Displacement of the Palestinian People

SadaNews - An extraordinary meeting of the open-ended executive committee was held today at the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, addressing developments in the Federal Republic of Somalia following Israel's recognition of the so-called "Somaliland" as an independent state, with the attendance of over 30 member states of the organization.

Palestine was represented at this extraordinary meeting by Ambassador Hadi Sh obli, the Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and First Advisor Nasim Al-Zanain.

The meeting issued a concluding statement that strongly condemned and categorically rejected Israel's recognition, as an occupying power, of the so-called "Somaliland," and affirmed complete solidarity with the Federal Republic of Somalia and the commitment of all member states in the organization to support Somalia's security, stability, unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The meeting also adopted a paragraph concerning the Palestinian cause, which included a total rejection of any potential link between this action and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people from their land, firmly asserting its rejection of any calls, plans, or policies aimed at any form of displacement of the Palestinian people, under any name, inside or outside Palestine, including Gaza, or changing the geographic or demographic makeup of the occupied land. It warned all countries against cooperating, either directly or indirectly, with Israeli displacement schemes, as any potential cooperation in this regard constitutes a serious crime and a grave violation of international law, exposing them to legal accountability for their blatant violations of international and humanitarian law. The statement also included a strong condemnation of the Israeli Knesset's racist decisions against the Palestinian people and prisoners, and the illegal annexation and settlement plans aimed at changing the geographical and demographic situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, in order to sustain the Israeli colonial occupation and undermine the two-state solution. It emphasized the necessity of working to end the illegal Israeli colonial occupation under international law, United Nations resolutions, and opinions issued by the relevant international labor court, and dismantling the colonial settlement regime.