During a telephone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on Thursday, Raeisi demanded that the 57-member body convene an emergency meeting in order to arrive at a joint decision on how to defend the rights of innocent Palestinians and confront the Tel Aviv regime’s crimes and atrocities.
The Iranian president described Palestine as the beating heart of the Muslim world, stressing that “support for the rights of the Palestinian nation and fight against the Zionist regime constitute an underlying principle of the Muslim Ummah.”
He added, “The unity of the Muslim world remains a necessity so as to confront the aggression and crimes by the Zionist regime.”
The Iranian president noted that the Muslim world, as an influential bloc within global equations, needs more integration.
For that reason, Raeisi said, Iran welcomes any initiative aimed at enhancement of relations among Muslim countries.
Widodo, for his part, welcomed his Iranian counterpart’s call for an emergency meeting of the OIC on Palestine, hoping that the event could further promote ties among Muslim states.
The two presidents also discussed relations between Tehran and Jakarta, and underlined the need for further development of the ties.
Shortly after the call, the General Secretariat of the OIC said it will hold an emergency, open-ended meeting of the Executive Committee at the level of Permanent Representatives, on Saturday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the incursions and attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against al-Aqsa Mosque and worshipers.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces raided the holy site for the second time in a row and tried to evacuate Palestinian worshipers by firing stun grenades and rubber bullets. Worshipers threw objects at the Israeli troops in response.
According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, at least six people were injured in the fresh flare-up.
The UN, Iran, Turkey and several other countries and bodies have expressed shock and concern about Israeli forces’ incursions into the mosque.
MNA/PR