Jerusalem is a red line, says OIC head

DOHA-Hürriyet Daily News

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu said he has conveyed to the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the OIC considers the al-Aqsa Mosque a red line for the Islamic ummah, impressing on her the need for an immediate end to Israeli violations in Jerusalem.

Speaking at the International Conference for Defense of Jerusalem in Doha, İhsanoğlu stressed that the issue of Jerusalem was the center of the political concerns of the OIC, and that the challenge created by Israeli actions in Jerusalem, which are against international law, should be opposed. İhsanoğlu also called on Muslim countries, wealthy people and financial institutions to provide all possible support to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay has also said Jerusalem must be freed of Israeli occupation if a lasting settlement is to reign in the Middle East. “Without the liberation of Jerusalem, no real peace and stability can be achieved in the Middle East or farther afield,” Atalay told the Anadolu news agency.