JEDDAH, December 16, 2025 (WAFA) – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the League of Arab States, and the African Union Commission have called on the international community to take all necessary measures to ensure accountability for Israel over all its violations and crimes against the Palestinian people, to end impunity, and to provide international protection for the Palestinian people.
In a joint statement issued following a consultative meeting held on Tuesday at the headquarters of the OIC in Jeddah, the three organizations stressed the need to hold Israel accountable before national, regional, and international courts, particularly the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
The statement considered the peace plan announced by the President of the United States and signed during the International Peace Summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh in October 2025 as a starting point toward halting bloodshed. It said the plan paves the way for unimpeded humanitarian access, the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces, the restoration of normal life, the convening of an international conference in Cairo to implement the Arab-Islamic Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, and the launch of an irreversible path toward realizing the two-state solution.
The three organizations strongly condemned Israeli statements aimed at opening the Rafah crossing in one direction only and categorically rejected any attempts or plans to forcibly displace Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank. They described such actions as war crimes, grave violations of international humanitarian law, and serious threats to regional and international peace and security.
They warned of the consequences of Israeli policies seeking to render the Gaza Strip uninhabitable and condemned the policy of siege and systematic starvation imposed on Gaza. The statement called for compelling Israel to permanently and safely open the Rafah crossing in both directions, as well as all land and sea crossings, and to allow the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid.
The organizations also warned of the continued dangers posed by Israeli policies in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, particularly colonial settlement expansion, arbitrary detentions, annexation plans, the imposition of Israeli sovereignty, incursions into cities, towns, and refugee camps, the destruction of homes and infrastructure, and the forced displacement of residents.
They reaffirmed the illegality of all Israeli settlements and the obligation to dismantle them, evacuate them, and remove all colonists from the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The statement warned of the escalation of systematic crimes and organized violence and terrorism perpetrated by extremist colonists under the full protection of Israeli occupation forces, and called on the international community to put an end to these crimes, hold perpetrators accountable under international criminal law, and confiscate colonists’ weapons in implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 904 (1994).
The joint statement rejected all illegal Israeli measures aimed at altering the political, geographic, and demographic character of occupied Jerusalem, stressing the need to preserve the historical and legal status quo of Islamic and Christian holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It also condemned crimes of enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, abuse, torture, and all violations against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, including the raid by extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on the cell of Palestinian national leader Marwan Barghouti and threats to his life. The organizations called for pressure on Israel to disclose the fate of Palestinian detainees, secure their release, and ensure their protection.
The three organizations reaffirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and stressed the need to support the Government of the State of Palestine in assuming its full responsibilities throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, including the Gaza Strip as an integral part of the State of Palestine, as well as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. They also called on the international community to compel Israel to immediately and fully release Palestinian tax revenues it is illegally withholding.
The statement concluded by emphasizing that a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the region can only be achieved through the implementation of the two-state solution, ending Israel’s colonial occupation, and ensuring its immediate and unconditional withdrawal, leading to the realization of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international law, relevant UN resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative.
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