VZCZCXRO4192
OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHGI RUEHJS RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHJI #0077/01 0411612
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101612Z FEB 08
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0525
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000077 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR HERRO 
MUSTAFFA IN P AND ANDREW STEINFELD IN NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KISL KPAL WBG SA
SUBJECT: OIC FINAL COMMUNIQUE FROM GAZA SUMMIT 
 
REF: A. JEDDAH 70 B. JEDDAH 74 
 
¶1. (U) The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) 
issued a Final Communique on February 3 after hosting an 
expanded meeting of its Executive Committee to discuss the 
situation in Gaza (Refs A and B).  The Communique reiterates 
previous OIC remarks condemning Israel and urging the 
international community to address developments in Gaza.  OIC 
Director General of Political Affairs Mahdy Fathallah 
provided a copy of the Communique personally to the Consul 
General at their recent meeting and asked that the State 
Department be made aware of it at the highest levels 
appropriate. 
 
¶2. (U) BEGIN TEXT: 
 
FINAL COMMUNIQUE OF THE EXPANDED EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE 
OIC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AT THE LEVEL OF FOREIGN MINISTERS ON 
THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN PALESTINE IN PARTICULAR THE SIEGE 
IMPOSED ON THE GAZA STRIP 
 
HEADQUARTERS OF THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE ORGANIZATION 
OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE 
JEDDAH - KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA 
 
3 FEBRUARY 2008 
 
The Expanded Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive 
Committee at the Level of Foreign Ministers, meeting on 3 
February 2008 (25 Muharram 1429H), at the Headquarters of the 
General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic 
Conference (OIC) in the city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia, 
 
Proceeding from the principles and objectives enshrined in 
the OIC Charter and acting in accordance with the OIC 
resolutions on the cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif; 
 
Hailing the steadfast resistance of the Palestinian people in 
the face of Israeli aggression and reaffirming its support of 
their just struggle in order to regain their inalienable and 
imprescriptible rights, including their right to 
self-determination and the establishment of their independent 
State of Palestine with Al-Quds as its capital, and their 
right to a just settlement of the issue of Palestinian 
refugees in accordance with United Nations General Assembly 
Resolution No. 194; 
 
Reaffirming that the Palestinian territories occupied since 
1967, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Al-Quds, 
constitute one single geographical unit; 
 
Asserting that the persistent illegal Israeli violations and 
practices in the occupied Palestinian territories-including 
the assaults on the city of Al-Quds, the excavations and 
settlement activities; as well as the killings, 
assassinations, and incursions, most particularly the latest 
incursions and assaults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 
which have left in their trail hundreds of victims amongst 
Palestinian civilians-constitute gross violations of human 
rights and exacerbate the humanitarian conditions in the 
occupied Palestinian territories; 
 
Noting that the blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza 
Strip-including closing down the border crossings and cutting 
the flow of fuel supplies, food, and medicines as well as 
actions in the West Bank such as setting road 
blocks-constitutes collective punishment of the civilian 
population; provokes serious humanitarian repercussions; and 
is considered a war crime, crime against humanity and a 
blatant breach of international law; 
 
Having taken cognizance of the Report of the OIC 
Secretary-General on the Grave Conditions in Palestine and 
 
SIPDIS 
the Blockade Imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip and having 
listened to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine and 
the interventions of Their Excellencies the Ministers and 
Heads of Delegations; 
 
¶I. Condemns Israel for its despicable aggression on the 
Palestinian people and its illegal and illegitimate 
practices, most particularly the extrajudicial killings and 
assassinations, bombardment of homes and infrastructures, and 
the unjustifiable blockade that Israel has imposed on the 
Gaza Strip as a collective punishment that comes under the 
category of war crimes.  Holds Israel, the occupying force, 
responsible for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in 
the Gaza Strip and asserts that these conditions are the 
direct result of Israel's persistent assault, closure of 
 
JEDDAH 00000077  002 OF 002 
 
 
border crossings, and disruption of the flow of fuel, food, 
and medical supplies to the Palestinian people in the Gaza 
Strip. 
 
II. Expresses its deep disappointment at the failure of the 
Security Council to assume its responsibility in addressing 
the humanitarian plight in Gaza, calls upon the international 
community to act swiftly and provide immediate protection for 
the Palestinian citizens in the occupied Palestinian 
territories and tasks the Islamic Group at the UN to pursue 
necessary measure to secure an adequate action by the United 
Nations. 
 
III. Welcomes UN Humans Rights Council Resolution No. 
A/HRC/S-6/L.1 adopted at its Extraordinary Session on 23 
January 2008 on the Human Rights Violations Arising from the 
Israeli Military Attacks and Incursions in the Palestinian 
Occupied Territories, Particularly in the Gaza Strip. Calls 
for the implementation of its provisions, especially the call 
to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians in 
the occupied Palestinian territories, in compliance with 
human rights law and international humanitarian law. 
 
IV. Welcomes the initiative launched by the Secretary-General 
and aimed at drumming up essential support to secure the 
necessary humanitarian needs for the Palestinian people in 
the Gaza Strip; expresses its appreciation for the role 
assumed by civil society institutions in the Member States by 
lending their help to the population of the Gaza Strip; and 
exhorts them to provide greater humanitarian assistance. 
 
¶V. Urges the Member States, the Islamic Development Bank 
(IDB), and private financial institutions to endeavor to 
provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian 
people in order to alleviate their suffering, which has been 
created by  Israel's violations, including its blockade, 
killings, and starvation. 
 
VI. Reiterates its appreciation and support of the efforts 
deployed by the Arab Republic of Egypt in order to alleviate 
the Palestinian people's suffering and to find a way out of 
the current humanitarian crisis. The meeting also expresses 
its support for the call made by Egyptian President Mohamed 
Hosni Mubarak for the Palestinian factions to expeditiously 
end their differences and resume the national dialogue on 
foundations that secure Palestinian national unity and serve 
the Palestinian people's higher interests in a way that is 
conducive to the reinstatement of the legitimate authority's 
role in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible. 
 
VII. Welcomes the Palestinian Authority's declaration that it 
was ready to assume the responsibility for operating all Gaza 
Strip crossings; and calls on the parties concerned to resume 
the application of internationally-agreed arrangements so as 
to ensure the reopening of the Gaza Strip crossings, 
including the Rafah Crossing, and so as to prevent the 
recurrence of the current humanitarian crisis in the future. 
 
VIII. Reaffirms its unequivocal support for the establishment 
of an independent Palestinian State with full sovereignty 
over all Palestinian territories occupied snce 1967, and 
with Al-Quds as its capital. Reiteates the illegality of 
Israeli measures aimed atjudaizing the city of AlQuds and 
altering its go-demographic character as well as the 
illegalityof the assaults and excavations being implemented 
within the vicinity of the Holy Al-Aqa Mosque. 
 
IX. Mandates the Secretary-General, in coordination with the 
Chairs of the Summit and Foreign Ministers Conference and 
Palestine, to take the necessary steps in order to contact 
influential international stakeholders and the United Nations 
with a view to lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip and 
resolving the ensuing humanitarian crisis. 
 
¶3. (U) END TEXT. 
GFOELLER