Joint Declaration of the Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Ministers on the Situation in Gaza held on 8 June 2024 in Istanbul, Türkiye

We, the Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation and the Heads of Delegations from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Türkiye gathering in İstanbul on 8 June 2024 at the invitation of H.E. Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, as an expression of our unified position in condemning the brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif,

Recalling all the resolutions of the United Nations and other international organizations regarding Palestine, the crimes of the Israeli forces, and the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence in all of their territory occupied since 1967,

Reaffirming all the resolutions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation regarding the Palestinian Cause and all the occupied Palestinian territories,

Underlining the centrality of the Palestinian Cause, and that we stand with all our capacities and capabilities alongside the brotherly Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to liberate all their occupied territories and to fulfill all their inalienable rights and to live in their independent, sovereign and contiguous state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital,

Reaffirming that a just, lasting and comprehensive peace is the only path to guarantee security and stability for all the peoples of the region and protect them from the spiral of violence and wars, and will not be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation and settling the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution,

Affirming our solidarity in confronting the humanitarian catastrophe inflicted on Gaza Strip and its people due to the unflinching Israeli aggression for more than eight months without respect for the most basic moral and humanitarian values;

Acknowledging the devastating impacts of the brutal Israeli aggression on Palestinian economy and infrastructure, as well as its damage to regional peace, stability and prosperity;

-We condemn in the strongest terms the brutal and inhuman Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as well as in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem;

-Demand an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire, the cessation of the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza, and the immediate implementation of the relevant UN Resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2728 (2024) which demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza Strip, as well as for providing humanitarian and medical aid and relief, providing fuel, water, electricity and shelter, and full humanitarian access through all possible means for the unhindered and adequate delivery of urgent assistance to the Gaza Strip; and call for compliance with UNSC Resolution 2720 (2023) demanding immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, and the establishment in Gaza of a UN mechanism for that purpose.

-Call on all States to ensure Israel to strictly comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice, thereby, immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; to withdraw from Rafah and provide the conditions for safe, immediate and unhindered humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing, as well as safe and unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance throughout the Gaza Strip; and to take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry and other fact-finding missions or other investigative bodies mandated by competent organs of the United Nations,

-Call on all States, particularly in view of the ongoing genocide and grave violations of International Law and international humanitarian law on the ground, to exert diplomatic, political, economic and legal pressure and take all necessary measures with a view to stopping all the crimes committed by occupying Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians.

-Call on all States to support, intervene and/or contribute to the legal processes before the international legal mechanisms/tribunals to ensure accountability for grave violations of International Humanitarian Law and International Law committed against the Palestinian People,

-Demand that all countries stop supplying weapons and ammunitions to Israel that are used by its army and extremist settlers to kill the Palestinian people and destroy their homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and all their properties;

-Call for efforts to provide protection for Palestinian civilians and to form a practical and effective international protection mechanism for this in implementation of the resolutions of the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly on the protection of the Palestinian people, including Resolution 904 (1994), and the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES-10/21, dated 27 October 2023, and the report of the UN Secretary-General in this regard,

-Demand complete lifting the Israeli siege on Gaza, including through opening of all available land border crossings and allowing the entry of international humanitarian aid convoys, including food, medicine and fuel into the Gaza Strip without any hindrance,

-Reaffirm our categorical rejection, by all means, to any attempt at forcibly displacing, expelling or transferring the Palestinian people from their land, and Call for unconditional return to their homes and lands of displaced Palestinians,

-Commend the role of the UNRWA in serving the Palestinian refugees and invite all States and the international community to continue supporting it to execute its historic mandate and responsibility with its irreplaceable and indispensable role in providing aid and services to Palestinian people,

-Emphasize the obligation for Israel to implement its responsibilities as the occupying power, and to stop all illegal Israeli measures that perpetuate the occupation, especially all settlement activities including the building and expansion of illegal settlements, the confiscation of lands, and the displacement of Palestinians from their homes,

-Affirm the State of Palestine’s full sovereignty over Al-Quds Al-Sharif, its eternal capital, its rejection and standing against any Israeli decisions or measures aimed at changing its character, being null and void and illegal under the international law and the relevant UN Resolutions,

-Condemn the Israeli attacks on the holy sites in Al-Quds, and Israel’s illegal measures that violate freedom of worship, and stress the necessity of upholding unchanged the historic status quo in the holy sites in word and in practice, and that of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,

-Condemn strongly the Israeli actions to escalate the war by provoking regional countries as well as targeting the Embassy of Iran in Damascus through unjustifiable attacks.

-Deplore the killing of more than 100 journalists and in excess of 200 humanitarian aid workers from several countries at the hands of Israel since October 2023.

-Emphasize the need for the international community to act immediately to implement the two-state solution in a way that meets all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, especially their right to their independent, sovereign and contiguous State along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with UN resolutions,

-Acknowledge the need for a guarantee mechanism so that when a final settlement is reached, its provisions could be implemented in full and in a sustainable fashion,

-Affirm the unwavering support of D-8 Member States to the struggle of the Palestinian people to realize their inalienable rights, the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations and all the resolutions related to the Palestinian Cause in international fora,

-Hail the recent decisions of a group of countries to recognize the State of Palestine as an endeavour for the sake of peace in the region, and Call on all the States that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine to do so as a requirement of peace, international law, justice and conscience,

-Call on the United States of America to lift its veto on the full membership of Palestine in the UN as an independent and sovereign State,

-Urge our Palestinian brothers and sisters to unite in their struggle to achieve their objectives, and Call on Palestinian factions to expedite the completion of national reconciliation,

-Support all efforts towards empowering the Palestinian economy as well as rebuilding Gaza following the withdrawal of Israeli forces,

-Commend the role of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Chairman in Office, in providing and facilitating entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, support all the steps it takes to confront the consequences of the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza and recent invasion of the Palestinian city of Rafah;

-Commend the Government of the Republic of Türkiye for gathering and hosting the Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Ministers on the situation in Gaza and appreciate the role of the meeting to further concretize the bonds of fraternity, cooperation and solidarity among the Member Countries.

-Task the D-8 Secretary General to facilitate consultation to follow up the elements contained in the Joint Declaration as well as the organization of the consequent meeting of the Council on Gaza.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *