OIC Foreign Ministers Meet to Prepare for Summit AgendaIslamic foreign ministers devoted themselves Thursday to the Palestinian issue, denouncing Israeli "atrocities against Palestinians" while stressing the rights of Palestinian people to self-determination and independence.At the opening session Thursday of the foreign ministerial meeting of the ninth Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said the Islamic world should send strong signals to Israel that its atrocities against the Palestinians could not and would not be tolerated any more. He held Israel responsible for the ongoing clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters, in which over 180 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed since late September. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabir al-Thani, who took over the presidency of the 56-member OIC from Iran, said Israel should withdraw from the Arab territories it occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. He also stressed the forbiddance of the desecration of the Islamic holy places, apparently referring to Israeli right-wing politician Ariel Sharon's visit on September 28 to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem that triggered the current cycle of Palestinian-Israeli clashes. The three-day foreign ministers meeting precedes the summit due on November 12-14. It is reported that the first day of the ministerial meeting and the summit will exclusively discuss the Palestinian issue. On the whole, Hamad said that the conference will seek to unite the Islamic ranks to achieve the Islamic countries' objectives and to enhance their role in world activities. Prior to the summit, Qatar's refusal to break off low-level ties with Israel drew criticisms from some Islamic countries and its decision on whether to sever trade ties with the Jewish state was also highlighted during the meetings. According the Qatar News Agency, Hamad had said before the opening of the ministerial meeting that Doha was "quietly" considering the issue of closing Israel's trade office in Doha. He added that this "quietness" in handling the issue was due to the current Palestinian-United States contacts which were still underway. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat went to Washington Thursday for talks with US President Bill Clinton on efforts to save the flagging Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Hamad expressed the hope that the Mideast peace process would continue despite current development. |
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