OIC calls "urgent, extraordinary" meeting in Saudi Arabia to address Israel-Gaza conflict

Riyadh: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a prominent alliance of Islamic nations, has initiated an "urgent extraordinary meeting" in Saudi Arabia to address the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

The OIC seeks to confront the "military escalation" and the severe threat posed to defenceless civilians in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia, currently presiding over the Islamic Summit, has extended invitations to member nations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for this crucial meeting, which is scheduled to take place in Jeddah on Wednesday.

According to an official statement on the OIC's website, "At the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia... the Organisation's Executive Committee is convening an urgent open-ended extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level, to address the escalating military situation in Gaza and its environs as well as the deteriorating conditions that endanger the lives of civilians and the overall security and stability of the region."

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is the second-largest international organisation worldwide, following the United Nations, with a membership of 57 nations spanning four continents. It identifies itself as "the collective voice of the Muslim world."

This call for an urgent meeting by the OIC coincides with the suspension of talks by Saudi Arabia on potentially normalising relations with Israel.

The recent escalation in hostilities was triggered when Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,300 people. In response, Israel initiated a retaliatory bombing campaign that has claimed the lives of at least 2,215 individuals in the Gaza Strip. There are also concerns about a potential Israeli ground invasion of the territory.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam's holiest sites, has never officially recognised Israel. It refrained from participating in the 2020 US-brokered Abraham Accords, in which several of its Gulf neighbours, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Morocco, established formal ties with Israel.

Over the past few months, the Biden administration in the United States had been actively advocating for Saudi Arabia to consider normalisation with Israel. Riyadh, under the de facto leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had presented certain conditions for normalising relations, including security assurances from Washington and assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program.

In the week since Hamas initiated its attack on Israel, Saudi Arabia has grown increasingly concerned about the well-being of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is under Hamas control. Israel has launched thousands of airstrikes in the region and ordered the evacuation of the northern part of the territory, leading thousands of individuals to seek refuge.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia issued a strong condemnation of the displacement of Palestinians within Gaza and the attacks on "defenceless civilians." This marks the kingdom's most robust criticism of Israel since the outbreak of the conflict, reported AFP.