The head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), stated that a new Middle East Quartet report on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is flawed because it “lacks objectivity”.
The report proposes a negotiated two-state solution as the only way to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine.
The report by the Quartet – made up of the U.S., the UN, the EU, and Russia – equates the Palestinian people and the Israeli occupiers. OIC Secretary General, Iyad Madani, said: “The report is not objective while describing Israel’s occupation and its illegal policies which hinder a political solution”.
Despite 2,420 Pal killed, a new Mid-East Quartet report "Equates the Palestinian people and the Israeli occupiers"- https://t.co/K89M0JilZ9
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) July 3, 2016
Madani called on the Middle East Quartet to act as a mediator to halt Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Madani said 2,420 Palestinians have been killed in the last two years alone: many houses have been destroyed, water and electricity cut off, and financial and natural resources of Palestinians seized as ‘collective punishment’.
The report, released on Friday, said the expansion of Israeli settlements, attacks on civilians, and the dire humanitarian condition in Gaza are “severely undermining hopes for peace”.
The report further reiterated that a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to achieve an enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty. In addition, it will end the occupation that began in 1967, and resolves all permanent status issues.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the unified capital of the Jewish state, which has never been recognized by the international community.
(MEMO, PC)
