Yvette Tanamal, Jakarta – Indonesia has called on Islamic nations to unite and "use all their power and available resources" to stop Israel from fully occupying the Gaza Strip and entrenching itself further in the West Bank, during an emergency Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.
Any attempt to implement the Greater Israel vision, Deputy Foreign Minister Anis Matta warned, would pose a significant "threat to the existence and survival of every country" in the Middle East.
Israel's continued military operation in Gaza, combined with recent remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsing the idea of expanding Israel's borders to include parts of neighboring states, cast a shadow over the gathering of OIC representatives in Saudi Arabia.
Chaired by Turkey, the extraordinary meeting of top OIC diplomats sought to address the worsening humanitarian crises in Gaza, particularly its slide into famine.
It also followed up on the statement made by Netanyahu in mid-August claiming that he "very much" connected with the vision of Greater Israel, a Zionist term used to describe an Israeli state encompassing present-day Gaza, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Netanyahu's statement caused massive international outrage, especially among Middle Eastern countries, with the Arab League denouncing the vision as "an extremist mindset steeped in colonial delusions".
Speaking on behalf of Jakarta, Anis reaffirmed Indonesia's rejection of Israel's military agenda and urged the 43 OIC members to step up their pro-Palestine diplomacy at every level.
"The OIC must use all of its power and available resources to stop Israel's [military plans]," Anis said, stressing the need for a united mechanism among Middle Eastern countries to safeguard their collective security.
The bloc cannot afford to ease its diplomatic push now, Anis further underscored, with conditions in Gaza deteriorating beyond catastrophic levels.
Nearly two years into Israel's siege, Gaza has slid into a full-blown humanitarian disaster. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in May that almost half of the city's 2.1 million population were facing "catastrophic situations of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death," while basic services have collapsed throughout the territory.
Attempts by countries and international organizations to deliver assistance have been severely obstructed by Israeli blockades, the United Nations noted, forcing many desperate Palestinians to resort to looting in their struggle to survive.
"There is nothing worse than using starvation as a weapon of war and genocide against our brothers and sisters in Gaza. It does not matter how much time, or how many sacrifices we must make. Palestine will always be the beating heart of our people," Anis said, urging member states to push international bodies, especially the UN, into taking stronger action.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan echoed the call, urging countries to apply coordinated pressure to halt Israel's annexation, slamming Gaza's famine as "man-made" and Israel's obstruction of aid as "a crime against humanity".
The Jeddah meeting concluded with a joint statement demanding an immediate end to Israeli attacks, the lifting of Gaza's siege, as well as condemnations of policies of starvation, destruction and forced demographic displacement.
Israel's plans to impose full military control over Gaza amounts to a "dangerous and unacceptable escalation", the statement said, calling it "an attempt to consolidate the illegal occupation" by force.
Source: https://asianews.network/indonesia-presses-islamic-nations-to-stop-israels-expansionist-agenda