OIC holds working meeting in New York

Members of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held here yesterday a working meeting focusing on the current developments in some member states of the Organization. They also exchanged views on supporting a move to establish a Palestinian state and gain its membership in the United Nations, before the annual coordination meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which will be held on September 23, 2011. In his opening remarks, OIC Secretary-General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, said the Organization condemned the illegal Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip and rejected the allegations contained in the Palmer report on the siege. The meeting comes two days before the opening of the 66th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to support fully (the current) efforts to raise this matter to the relevant international legal authorities. At the same time, the participants emphasized the support of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for the great efforts of the State of Palestine to rally support for the rights of the Palestinian people and their legitimate national aspirations. They also backed efforts to seek Palestine's full membership in the United Nations and to ensure that Palestine takes its rightful place in the international community.