OIC convenes emergency meeting following the attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque worshippers

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has convened an emergency meeting to discuss the despicable attack by Israeli security forces on Muslims offering prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The meeting scheduled for May 11, 2021, will discuss escalating Israeli aggression and the attack in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

OIC tweeted that the emergency meeting of Permanent Representatives was convened upon the request of the State of Palestine. OIC states will discuss the ongoing attacks against Islamic and Christian holy sites by the Israeli government, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Aside from the recent attacks, constant Israeli occupational efforts such as forceful eviction of scores of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood will also be discussed in detail.

On Monday morning, Israeli forces launched a fresh attack on Palestinians gathered in the Al-Aqsa compound with rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas shells, injuring hundreds of worshippers.

This was the second attack in less than 72 hours as they had injured over 200 Palestinians on Friday when tens of thousands of worshippers had flocked the holy mosque for last Friday prayers of Ramadan.

Al-Aqsa mosque is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization given its significance it is to all Abrahamic religions. Yet, attacks against worshipers in the Mosque compound are not uncommon. Israeli authorities also deny access to the compound, as part of attempts to change the legal, historical and demographic status of the occupied city and isolate it from its Palestinian neighborhood.

Previously in 2015, UNESCO condemned Israeli authorities limiting Muslim access to Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque. The United Nations’ cultural agency even asserted that Israel is interfering with major holy sites in occupied areas. It is reported that some 200 historical Palestinian sites have been taken over by illegal Jewish settlements, and 1,000 damaged or destroyed by Israel’s construction of its separation barrier.