Address root causes of conflict between Israel and Palestine, Momen tells int. community

Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen has called upon the international community to address the root causes of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

"We call upon the international community to address the root causes of the conflict. We believe an enduring solution to this recurring problem can only be achieved through realization of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and their right to have an independent and sovereign state of Palestine in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Road Map. We believe that the international community should come together towards realizing this solution," the foreign minister added.

AK Momen made the remarks at the OIC open-ended extraordinary meeting of the executive committee at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on Wednesday. The meeting was organised on the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people.

At the very outset, he thanked the Saudi government for convening this important meeting and the Palestinian foreign minister for giving an update on the current situation in Palestine.

"We strongly condemn the barbaric bombing on Gaza hospital which is totally unacceptable," he added.

Momen said Bangladesh strongly condemns the Israeli aggression in the occupied Palestinian territory which has resulted in loss of over 3000 lives, 1/3 of whom are children.

The foreign minister said the current asymmetric war waged by Israel in Gaza targeting the civilians is not only disproportionate, it tantamount to collective punishment of Palestinians in contravention of all fundamental principles of human rights and humanitarian law.

"We therefore call for urgent ceasefire in Gaza achieved through dialogue among all relevant parties," he added.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached to all time low with Israel’s denial of humanitarian access and indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure, the foreign minister added.

"We also reject unequivocally Israel’s call to forcibly displace the Palestinians out of their own homeland- which will further deteriorate the humanitarian situation in the entire region which tantamount to ethnic cleansing," the foreign minister noted.

"We regret that the Security Council failed to adopt a resolution tabled by Russian Federation (16 October) to enable humanitarian support in Gaza and reiterate our call for immediate humanitarian assistance for the affected population. We also call upon the Security Council to condemn the killing of UN and other aide workers, health personnel and journalists in Gaza and hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and disrespect for international humanitarian and human rights laws," he added.

Momen said no one wins by killing innocent people and the killers are surely the losers in the hearts and minds of people.

He said OIC should take a lead to arrange a special UNGA meeting. On this vain we support the Gambian proposal for convening an Intetnational Peace Conference on this issue.

"As the member of the Muslim Ummah our destiny is one as are our burdens and responsibilities. Only by mobilizing and optimizing our synergies we can create an Ummah of shared peace and stability. At this critical time let us stand strong together and work to stop the massacre in Palestine and to ensure lasting peace," the foreign minister observed.