Amman, Lower House Speaker Ahmad Safadi on Monday called on Islamic parliaments to take a unified position rejecting all practices by the Israeli occupation authority in the Palestinian territories.
In an address at the 17th parliamentary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states, which was opened by Algerian National Assembly Speaker Ibrahim Boghali, Safadi called on Islamic parliaments to take a serious stand to put the Palestinian issue top of its agenda.
He called for a unified position rejecting all Israeli practices, including storming holy sites and expanding settlements, adding that Islamic parliaments have a duty to support the rights of the Palestinians, top of which is the establishment of their independent state on their national soil and supporting the Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem.
He said His Majesty King Abdullah II firmly and steadfastly upholds the Jordanian custodianship over the Jerusalem holy places.
Jordan remained on the side of Palestinian rights, defending their just cause and Jerusalem, and loyal to its Arab and Islamic nation, despite the challenges and pressures and successive waves of refugees, he said.
Safadi called for a firm position rejecting all attempts to Judaize the Holy Land and supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), proposing that the Algiers session be dubbed the “Conference to Defend Jerusalem”, sying “the city is for all Muslims and that their right to it, along with Christians, is historical and everlasting.”
The Lower House chief also urged supporting Iraq and enhancing its security, stability and territorial integrity “after it defeated the forces of evil and darkness”.
He also stressed the need to support endeavors to find peaceful solutions in Syria, Yemen and Libya and defend Islam against false accusations of extremism. Islam is a religion that advocates for love and tolerance, and that terrorism has no religion, he said, adding that Muslims themselves are the ones who suffered most from terrorism.
Source: Jordan News Agency