JEDDAH (AFP)--The Organisation of the Islamic Conference on Saturday urged the United Nations Security Council to take action to halt Israel's "brutal and sustained aggression" against the Gaza Strip.
Foreign ministers of the 57-member organization expressed "disappointment at the failure of the U.N. Security Council to take the necessary measures to end the Israeli aggression" in Gaza, a statement said.
They also called on the Security Council "to live up to its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security," the statement said.
The ministers "strongly condemned the brutal and sustained aggression which Israel perpetrates against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of civilians, leaving thousands injured, and wreaking massive havoc on houses, civic facilities and infrastructure," the statement said.
The OIC should call for a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on the crisis if the Security Council fails to act on Israel's week-long deadly bombing campaign, it added.
The group also proposed the creation an international observer mission for Gaza "to stem the escalation of the conflict and to ensure the stabilization of the situation."
OIC ministers said the organization should also convene an urgent meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council to discuss human rights violations in Gaza, the statement added.
They also stressed the need to support the Palestinian National Authority and assist it in rebuilding what has been destroyed by Israel's deadly offensive in Gaza, and said they supported convening a donors conference for this purpose.
Ministers also urged rival Palestinian factions to "move beyond their differences, end their disputes, and resume the national dialogue on foundations that would ensure Palestinian national unity."
At least 460 Palestinians have been killed since December 27 when Israel launched its assault on targets of the Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip to halt missile attacks on Israel.
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Publié le 03 janvier 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones