The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Monday said there will be no normalization of ties with Israel until the country ends its occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands.
Yousef Al-Othaimeen, the OIC secretary-general, said in a statement: “Establishing normal relations between the member states of the organization and the Israeli occupation state will not be achieved until the end of the Israeli occupation of the Arab and Palestinian lands occupied since 1967, including al-Quds [Jerusalem].”
Palestine cause a core issue for OIC
Al-Othaimeen stressed that the Palestinian cause is a core issue for the OIC.
. "The peace process is an indivisible whole and normalizing the relations between Member States and the Israeli occupation state will never take place until after the end of the Israeli occupation of the Arab and Palestinian lands occupied since 1967, including al-Quds, …
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) August 24, 2020
The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, he said, “constitutes 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, passed at a 2002 Arab summit in Beirut, proposes the establishment of normal relations between Arab countries and Israel in exchange for the latter’s withdrawal from all Arab lands occupied since 1967, a just solution to the refugee issue, and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The 2002 Arab #Peace Initiative is no longer relevant now that #Israel and the #UAE are set to normalize ties, according to former IDF Intelligence Director Amos Yadlin.
Report by @tovahlazaroffhttps://t.co/wx1p3MXGXW— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) August 18, 2020
But successive Israeli governments rejected the initiative and called for fundamental changes to it.
Morocco and Sudan reject normalization till occupation ends
Morocco rejects any form of normalization with Israel, Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El-Othmani said on Sunday evening.
The Sudanese Communist Party on Saturday rejected any deal to normalize relations with Israel.
“We stand by the rights of the Palestinian people and against normalization with Israel,” Sadiq Yousef, a member of the party’s Central Committee said in statements to the official SUNA news agency.
Sudan has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
Last week, Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman said a normalization deal between Khartoum and Tel Aviv was imminent.
The ministry, however, denied the claim, saying the issue of the Sudanese-Israeli relations was not discussed. It also sacked the spokesman over the remarks.
The move came after the United Arab Emirates and Israel announced a US-brokered agreement to normalize their relations, including opening embassies in each other’s territory.
The agreement is the third Israeli-Arab peace treaty in the Middle East, and the first involving a Gulf state.
Palestinian groups denounced the UAE-Israel deal, saying it does not serve the Palestinian cause and ignores the rights of Palestinians.
“We refuse to normalize relations with the Zionist entity (Israel) because this will embolden it to further breach the rights of the Palestinian people,” El-Othmani said in a meeting with his Justice and Development Party (PJD).
He said the Moroccan king, government and people will always defend the rights of the Palestinian people and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967.
In 1993, Morocco and Israel had low-level diplomatic ties following the signing of the Oslo Accords between the Palestinians and Israel. However, Rabat suspended the relations with Israel following the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000.
Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel announced a US-brokered agreement to normalize their relations, including opening embassies in each other’s territory.
Palestinian groups have denounced the UAE-Israel deal, saying it does not serve the Palestinian cause and ignores the rights of Palestinians.
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, asserted that the issue of Palestine and al-Quds is the OIC’s raison d’être, pivotal cause, and source of unity and strength.
“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,” stated al-Othaimeen.
The Secretary-General confirmed that he had conducted many consultations with various stakeholders and what transpired is that the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, with all its elements and natural sequence as adopted by the various Islamic Summits and successive Councils of Foreign Ministers (CFM), constitutes a strategic choice, a historical opportunity, and a common reference.
“Any just and comprehensive peaceful solution geared towards ending the Arab-Israeli conflict must thus take it as a springboard,” reiterated Al-Othaimeen.
Earlier this month, the UAE and Israel announced a US-brokered agreement to normalize their relations, including opening embassies in each other’s territory.
The UAE will be the third Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
Read more: UAE-Israel Agreement: Muslim Ummah Is Divided Again
Palestinian groups have denounced the UAE-Israel deal, saying it does not serve the Palestinian cause and ignores the rights of Palestinians.
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk