The Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference

c/o The Secretary General H.E.Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
PO Box: 178, Jeddah-21411, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Tel:6900001, fax:2751953

Assalamualaikum wr.wb

Dear Sirs

In a few hours you will be meeting to discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip and the ensuing humanitarian disaster.

We write to you with an urgent request to take effective steps to put an end to the war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as a result of the Israeli occupying forces' ongoing attacks on the Gaza strip.

More than 400 persons, including 37 children, have been killed and over 2000 Palestinians have been injured. The civilian population of the occupied Gaza strip will inevitably continue to suffer heavy losses without the external intervention of the international community; this is confirmed by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak's assertion that this is a "war to the bitter end."

Grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention amounting to war crimes have been committed, including wilful killing and the extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. Furthermore, the continuing collective punishment of the Gaza strip has left medical services unable to deal with the increasing number of victims.

Despite recommendations by the UN Human Rights Council to Israel concerning its obligation to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip it has refused to do so and the capacity of Gaza's civilian infrastructure to respond to the humanitarian needs of the population after days of bombardment has now reached breaking point.

Further, the Special Rapporteur Richard Falk has called on "all Member States, as well as officials and every relevant organ of the United Nations system, to move on an emergency basis not only to condemn Israel's serious violations, but to develop new approaches to providing real protection for the Palestinian people."

We note that the Security Council has thus far failed to take concrete steps despite the gravity of the situation. However, General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto's statement that "the time has come to take firm action if the UN does not want to be rightly accused of complicity by omission" offers a platform for concrete action that should be used by the OIC.

In the circumstances we urge you to approach the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Union to jointly submit a request to the General Assembly to convene under General Assembly Resolution 377, "Uniting for Peace," with a view towards the imposition of collective measures against the Israeli Government.

We believe that such a step would halt the escalation of civilian deaths, offer hope to civilians in despair over the political deadlock and ultimately serve the long-term interests of peace.

Sincere regards,

Abdul Ghani Shamsuddin

SHURA Chairman