The Palestinian ambassador to Riyadh, Jamal Shobaki, told the Arab News that Palestine is still the central cause of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He said the Palestinian cause is receiving full support from all Islamic countries’ leaders. “They don’t spare an effort to end the occupation and to establish a Palestinian state of which Jerusalem is the capital,” said Shobaki.
He stressed that Muslim leaders support the Palestinian refugees’ right to return and to end the unjust blockade by Israeli occupying forces in addition to putting an end to Judaizing attempts in Jerusalem.
With regards the Syrian crisis, Shobaki said that all leaders are confronted with historically decisive responsibility to work together to stop the bloodshed in Syria and Myanmar. “Syria should aim to solve the crisis with its people and unite it land once again,” he added.
Emad Shaath, Palestine consul general in Jeddah, valued the king’s initiative to conduct this summit. He said the king has been always taking part in initiatives to support the humanitarian and political issues of the Ummah. This summit, said Shaath, is unique in that it comes not in the holy month of Ramadan, but also comes in the last ten days of this month which include the “Laylatul Qadar” night.
“Laylatul Qadar is described in Qur’an as better than thousand months. Having the summit in Makkah, in Ramadan and in the last ten days of it gives it a spiritual vigor that does not exist in any other place in the world,” said Shaath.
He urged leaders to benefit from this great initiative to find solutions to the Ummah’s problems before they spiral out of control.
Shaath said that Saudi Arabia has a long record of historical stances in support of Palestinians’ rights. He added that Palestinians always considered Saudi Arabia its biggest supporter against Israeli occupation.