Islamic Cooperation Organization Condemns 'Military Violence' Against Palestinians in Gaza

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, consisting of 57 countries, issued a statement strongly condemning 'Israel's military violence against Palestinians in Gaza.' According to this statement, on Thursday, October 12, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation described the 'brutal violence' against Palestinians as a 'clear violation of humanitarian and international laws' and labeled it a 'war crime.' The statement criticized the killing and injuring of women and children, as well as the destruction of civilian buildings and other sites. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, emphasized that 'full responsibility' for the 'consequences of the current sinful violence' lies with Israel. The Israeli army insists that the targets it attacks are 'legitimate targets,' claiming that Hamas hides in buildings where civilians are present. Reports indicate that Hamas and Islamic Jihad took dozens of hostages to Gaza following a large-scale massacre of people in Israel. The Associated Press noted the decisive role of Saudi Arabia in shaping the policies of this Islamic organization, concluding that the current war between Israel and the Palestinians is likely to affect U.S. efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Previously, Ilan Berman, a senior vice president at the American Foreign Policy Council, described the goal of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, groups supported by the Islamic Republic, in their 'terrorist attacks' as preventing the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Ilan Berman, in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America, pointed out that the 'Iranian regime' opposes the rapprochement between Israel and Gulf Arab states, stating that the Iranian government is pressuring Hamas and Islamic Jihad to take further actions to halt the normalization process with Israel. Navid Toubian, an analyst on Israeli issues, also believes that the Islamic Republic fears the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Alireza Noorizadeh stated that Benjamin Netanyahu and Ali Khamenei are major obstacles to peace between Israel and Palestine. Blinken emphasized U.S. support for Israel during his meeting with Netanyahu. UN experts condemned the 'horrific crimes of Hamas' and described Israel's response as 'collective punishment.' The U.S. Secretary of State has arrived in Israel.