The OIC, the second largest intergovernmental group in the world, after the United Nations, said it supported the decision of Palestinians to "seek a UN Security Council resolution to set a timeline to end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Land, establish a Palestinian State with East Al-Quds [East Jerusalem] as its capital, and bring about a just settlement for the issue of Palestinian refugees in line with international legality resolutions."
This comes after the European Union adopted a resolution earlier in the day backing the so-called two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. This initiative envisages the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state and calls for the states of Israel and Palestine to co-exist peacefully. Brussels also upheld a proposal to make Jerusalem a shared capital of both states.
Serry stressed that the situation on the ground remained "explosive" in the wake of recent clashes in the West Bank and Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip that killed over 2,000 Palestinians in summer.
Palestinians have long sought an independent state in West Bank, including the disputed city of East Jerusalem, as well as the Gaza Strip exclave. In October, Palestinians said they would submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council demanding that the Israelis end their occupation and move the settlements, considered illegal by the European Union, from the territories by November 2016.
