DAKAR - Islamic foreign ministers on Monday condemned Israel's renewed attacks in the Palestinian territories as "unacceptable" domination of the Palestinian people.
Meeting ahead of a summit of their leaders this week, foreign ministers from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) focused their criticism on Israel while also discussing the Iraq war, the Darfur conflict and what they called "Islamophobia" in the West.
"In our view it is imperative for the international community to make it clearly understood by Israel that it cannot continue its policy of domination of the Palestinian people," said Senegal's Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio speaking as host president of the meeting.
Gadio also criticised "the persistance and the aggravation of the Israel occupation" of Jerusalem.
"This situation is intolerable and demands that we stay mobilised behind our Palestinian brothers in their heroic struggle," Gadio commented.
Heightened Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since February 27 have left more than 130 dead. The Hamas movement, which governs Gaza, claimed responsibility for the deaths of eight people in a seminary in Jerusalem.
There has been a relative calm since the weekend as Israel has suspended its raids.
Other ministers and OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also called for the speedy creation of a Palestinian state.
Ihsanoglu said the OIC now has increased influence but Muslim nations must now combat what he called "the surging waves of prejudices and bigotry" against Islam's followers.
"The OIC now has the capacity to play a leading role at the international level. At the same time, the OIC has become and indispensable player in the domain of dialogue among civilisations."
He added that the Muslim world must work on "pressing issues confronting it" such as the Palestinians, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflict in Somalia and Sudan's Darfur region.
"We are confronted by hatred and bigotry of radical marginal groups of people who believe that it is only through insulting Muslim and their religious symbols that they can demonstrate their commitment to freedom of speech," said the OIC leader.
Combating what some Islamic ministers increasingly call "Islamophobia" is to be one of the key themes of the leaders summit on Thursday and Friday.
The foreign ministers meeting started seven hours behind schedule. Sources within the organisation said this was because experts preparing the meeting had become bogged down over proposals to change the charter of the 57-nation forum.
cs/tw/ach
03/10/2008 18:33 GMT