OIC calls for sanctions against Israel over Gaza genocide

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday denounced a "genocide" in Gaza, urging its 57 member countries to impose sanctions on Israel in a resolution adopted at the end of its Gambia summit.

The organisation called on its members to impose "sanctions on Israel, the occupying power, and halting the export of weapons and ammunition used by its army to perpetrate the crime of genocide in Gaza".

Sunday's resolution, seen by AFP, urged members "to exercise diplomatic, political and legal pressure and to take any deterrent measures to stop the crimes of the Israeli colonial occupation, and the genocidal war it is waging against the Palestinian people, including by imposing sanctions".

It also called for "an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire".

Founded in 1969 after the burning of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the OIC aims to increase Muslim solidarity, support the Palestinian struggle and defend Muslim holy sites.

In November 2023, it met with the Arab League in Riyadh for a joint summit, condemning the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza, but refraining from setting out punitive economic and political measures against Israel.

But in December 2023, the OIC welcomed the action brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in which it accused it of genocide against the Palestinians.

The 15th OIC summit, which started Saturday, focussed on Egypt's capital Cairo, where a meeting on a proposed truce, linked to the release of hostages in Gaza, was held this weekend without any concrete progress.

Only a handful of African leaders attended the OIC summit in person, most leaders of the 57 member countries sending representatives.

Gaza's bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,683 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.