Under the shadow of the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, leaders of many Arab nations gathered in the tiny African nation of Senegal for the Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting. While the leaders of the impoverished nation wonder if hosting such an event will ultimately generate good graces from the wealthy oil-rich patrons, some of the leaders used the high-profile forum as a platform to raise issues concerning the broader Middle East. I wrote last week or so that many Arab leaders were pointing to the ongoing escalation in Gaza as something tantamount to war crimes. It seems others feel the same way.
Ethnic cleansing and Palestinians
PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine the other day at the OIC summit in Dakar accused Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Jerusalem by banning the building of Palestinian homes and cutting the city off from the West Bank. ‘Our people in the city are facing an ethnic cleansing campaign through a set of Israeli decisions heavy taxes, closing Palestinian institutions in addition to separating the city from the West Bank by the racist separation wall,’ Mr Abbas reportedly said adding this was in total violation of the peace process. The future of Jerusalem, which Israel claims as its capital, has not been accepted internationally, is one of the most divisive issues facing peace negotiators.
Peace talks between Mr. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faltered late last year after Israel announced plans to build hundreds of new homes in and around East Jerusalem on land it occupied in 1967. Israel says the construction is within areas it intends to keep in any future peace deal with the Palestinians. It defends its construction of the West Bank barriers that the International Court of Justice has termed illegal. An Israeli spokesman has termed the remarks of Mr. Abbas as ‘inflammatory’ while a US State Department spokesman said the use of the words ‘ethnic cleansing’ was probably an example of ‘overheated political rhetoric’.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told the Islamic summit that Israelis responsible for attacks on Palestinians should be tried for war crimes. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has said Israel must stop using disproportionate and excessive force’ against Palestinians. On a subsequent visit to the region, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said the two sides had agreed to resume negotiations, but new Israeli settlement projects in the occupied West Bank have since heightened tensions.
