Speaking at a United Nations Security Council session addressing the attacks in Gaza and violations in the region, Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ahmet Yıldız, called on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for stronger international measures to protect Palestinians.
Yıldız condemned the war against the Palestinian people as genocidal and the escalation of Israel’s attacks. He said that Israel’s activities in Syria and Lebanon, as well as its occupation of Palestinian territories, were incompatible with international law.
Gaza ceasefire and forced displacement
Yıldız called on Israel to immediately begin the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and urged full compliance with the obligations under United Nations resolutions. In this context, Yıldız referred to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803.
Yıldız said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation group categorically rejected calls for Palestinians to be forcibly displaced from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for any reason, and stressed that Palestinians’ rights must be protected.
Opposition to the E1 plan and settlement projects
Yıldız condemned the decision by the Israeli authorities to implement the E1 plan and to open a tender for the construction of new settlements in the strategic E1 area. He said the plan envisaged the construction of more than 2,000 housing units.
Warning on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque
Yıldız said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation group strongly condemned the ongoing attacks targeting Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and warned against plans to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially.
Yıldız stressed that the holy sites of Muslims and Christians must be protected and their sanctity preserved. He also condemned the ongoing violations against Syria and the attacks launched from Syrian territory toward Lebanon.
Call for support for Lebanon
Yıldız conveyed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s requests to the Security Council for the protection of Palestinians, support for the Lebanese Army and the continuation of humanitarian aid to Lebanon.
More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 175,000 injured in the attacks in Gaza since October 2023. While the attacks have caused destruction to approximately 90 percent of the infrastructure, attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians and their property have also increased in the occupied West Bank.
Majed Bamya, the Deputy Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, who also addressed the session, said Palestinians were being asked to prove their commitment to peace while simultaneously facing mass killings, forced displacement and annexation. Bamya said 92 percent of homes in Gaza had been destroyed or damaged and that approximately 6,000 settler attacks had taken place in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year, calling for an end to the occupation.
