OIC Condemns Israeli Colonial Seizure of Palestinian Lands, Heritage Sites

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Jeddah, 29 July 2024 - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the continuation of Israeli occupation colonial settlement policies perpetrated with the confiscation of thousands of acres of Palestinian lands, the most recent being the seizure of heritage sites in Sabastiya in Nablus province.

The OIC considered this as part of a racist policy pursued by the Israeli occupation targeting hundreds of heritage, historical and educational sites as well as religious places in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including the occupied city of Al-Quds, in an attempt to wipe out, plunder, falsify and destroy the cultural and civilizational heritage of the Palestinian people. This is in flagrant violation of international law, the Geneva Convention, the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocols.

The OIC called on the international community, particularly the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to act quickly to protect tangible and intangible cultural properties in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.