Women attend the funeral procession of assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran. | Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters
Riyadh: Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was assassinated last week in Iran. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which has vowed to retaliate, has blamed Israel for the attack.
After an extraordinary meeting of the 57-member bloc was held on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, a statement issued said it “holds Israel, the illegal occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous attack”, which it described as “a serious infringement” of Iran’s sovereignty.
The "heinous" assassination of Haniyeh and the ongoing war in Gaza, according to Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara of The Gambia, the chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, could spark a regional conflict, Al Jazeera reported.
“The aggression and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the assassination of a political leader on its soil is an act that cannot be viewed in isolation,” Tangara said.
“This heinous act serves only to escalate the existing tensions potentially leading to a wider conflict that could involve the entire region.”
The OIC gathering was called for in Jeddah, a coastal city in Saudi Arabia, by Iran and Palestine. The bloc identifies itself as the global voice of the Muslim community. The host nation, Saudi Arabia, added that Haniyeh's murder constituted a “blatant violation” of Iran’s sovereignty.
Waleed al-Khereiji, the kingdom’s deputy foreign minister, said his country rejects “any violation of the sovereignty of states or interference in the internal affairs of any country”.
Although the Israeli government has not acknowledged or disputed responsibility, Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of being behind Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran last week.
Iran has threatened Israel with "harsh punishment" in retaliation, vowing to strike back. However, de-escalation has been advocated by the US and other Western nations.
A spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, stated on Wednesday that a number of OIC members concur with Washington that escalation will only make the ongoing crises in the region worse.
“We would hope that at that OIC meeting the same thing happens that we have been trying to effectuate throughout the last week, which is that all parties that have a relationship with Iran impress upon Iran – the same way that we’ve been impressing upon the government of Israel – that they shouldn’t take any steps to escalate the conflict,” Miller said.
He continued by saying that the chances of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza could be jeopardised by regional escalation.
“The message that we are sending to everyone is: Look, this is obviously a very delicate time for the region. Tensions are high. We are in the final stages – hopefully – of a ceasefire deal,” Miller said.
“And escalation has the potential to make every problem the region faces worse.”
The US has not condemned the assassination of Haniyeh, who was spearheading ceasefire negotiations for the Palestinian group before being replaced by Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden announced late in May what he claimed to be a multiphase Israeli plan to end the conflict, which included the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and Israeli prisoners in Gaza leading to an "enduring" ceasefire. In the beginning, Washington, which has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, directly blamed Hamas for the lack of progress towards an agreement.
However, Miller stated on Wednesday that since May, more concerns and facts on the ground have emerged and that Israel and Hamas still need to reach a consensus on "final issues." He stressed that the outstanding disagreements are “bridgeable”.
Gambia’s Tangara in his address at the OIC meeting urged for “durable peace that addresses the root causes of the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict”.
“It is crucial for the global community to come together to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need and to work towards a sustainable political solution that promote peace and security for all people in the region,” Tangara said.