No normalization with Israel until Palestine establishes viable state: OIC

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) says its member states would not follow the United Arab Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel until the regime ends the occupation of Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem al-Quds, which Palestine wants as the capital of its sovereign state.

In a statement issued on Monday, OIC Secretary General Yusuf bin Ahmed al-Uthaymeen highlighted the issue of Palestine and Israeli-occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as the organization’s raison d’être and pivotal cause.

“It is at the heart of the OIC’s joint Islamic action and the main consensus of all Member States, which all endeavor to end the Israeli occupation and help the Palestinian people realize their legitimate rights,” he said.

He further pointed to the so-called Arab Peace Initiative as “a strategic choice, a historic opportunity, and a common reference on which a peaceful, just and comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict must be based.”

The Initiative calls on Israel to agree to a “two-state solution” along the 1967 borders and a “just” solution to the Palestinian refugee issue.

“The OIC supports all efforts exerted to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable national rights, including the right of return, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent and sovereign state on the borders of June 4, 1967,” he said.

He further censured unilateral Israeli measures to annex Palestinian territories and build settlements on occupied land, saying the illegal moves undermine the so-called two-state solution.

The OIC chief said normalization “will never take place until after the end of the Israeli occupation of the Arab and Palestinian lands occupied since 1967, including al-Quds, and the establishment of the viable Palestinian State with East al-Quds as its capital.”

On August 13, the UAE and the Israeli regime reached the deal for a full normalization of their relations. The deal was apparently brokered by US President Donald Trump.

The intended normalization has angered Muslim nations and supporters of the Palestinian cause against Israel’s occupation.

Palestinian leaders have described the Emirates’ deal with Israel as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and a “stab in the back” of the Palestinian people.

The Emirati officials have described the peace deal as a step toward helping Palestinian statehood by halting annexation plans. Palestine, however, rejects that claim, saying normalization attempts had been in the offing for a long time.