TEHRAN – An emergency meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC member states (PUIC) to support Palestine was held here Wednesday, with participants calling for urgent practical measures to put an end to ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Addressing the meeting, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf defended the “absolute” rights of the Palestinians to resist against occupation and aggression.
The Zionist regime, he said, was founded on genocide and aggression and its survival depends on perpetrating such heinous crimes.
“What is coming to pass in the Gaza Strip today is a cause of deep concern and shame for humanity. It is a double injustice to a nation that has been deprived of any human rights and has been under aggression and occupation for more than seven decades,” Ghalibaf said.
“No awakened conscience can be dismissive of the heinous and widespread bloody crimes being committed by the Israeli Zionist regime’s war machine in Gaza and its horrendous effects on the peace and security of the region and the world.”
Ghalibaf also touched on Washington’s and its Western allies’ unflinching support to the Zionist regime over the past decades.
“Israel, has not only committed the most heinous crimes against the oppressed people of Palestine, but as a corrupt and pampered child under the support of the Western political system and as the center of crisis in the region has remained immune from any accountability, responsibility and punishment,” he said.
Ghalibaf also hit out at the West’s double standards towards the Israeli crimes in Gaza.
He said, “What we are witnessing in Palestine these days is a clear example of the hypocritical and deviant policy of the United States and its Western allies in supporting bloodshed, absolute defense of the tyrant, and categorical denial of the historical and civilizational realities of Palestine.”
Ghalibaf called on the Islamic countries to use various mechanisms, including widespread political and economic sanctions, to force the occupation to stop the war on Gaza.
Representatives from 26 Islamic and Asian countries, including from Bahrain, Turkiye, Algeria, Oman and China, attended the meeting.
In their final communiqué, they called for the Zionist regime to be prosecuted in international courts for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“While committing war crimes and ruthless attacks, the Zionist regime deliberately opposes any

prospect of an immediate ceasefire and the opening of corridors to send humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories,” it said.
“We express our deep concern along with the international community because the flames of the Zionist regime’s demonic actions will extend beyond the borders of occupied Palestine. Given the current dire situation in Palestine, the entire region faces a very serious challenge that could have dangerous consequences for global peace and security,” it added.
The statement said the Palestinian issue is the primary concern for the Islamic world, noting that the occupied Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque at its heart are a “red line for all Muslims”.
“We confirm that the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts committed by the politicians and military forces of the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip, including military attacks, ground operations, air raids, destruction of homes, places of worship, public service centers, schools, hospitals, as well as the massacre of innocent people and their detentions, blatantly violate international human rights laws and constitute a deliberate violation of relevant United Nations resolutions,” the statement said.
“These acts must be referred to the relevant international courts for prosecution,” it added.