OIC summit to discuss six core issues



JAKARTA: -- Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said the upcoming high-level summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to be held on March 6-7 in Jakarta will address six unresolved core issues on the dispute between Palestine and Israel, The Jakarta Globe reported.

Among them is the border dispute, as referred to the original borders based by the 1947 United Nations (UN) Partition Plan. Following the occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967 by Israel, these borders have become a matter of concern as they continue to affect the shifting demography of the region.

The second issue relates to refugees. According to Foreign Ministry data, at least four million Palestinians live beyond the country’s border. The matter is closely related to the third issue: the official status of Jerusalem, which was claimed by Israel as its capital city. Nearly 37 percent of Jerusalem’s population are Palestinians.

The fourth issue pertains to living conditions in the city, particularly in its eastern part, which has reportedly deteriorated, with 75 percent of Palestinian residents living below the poverty line. This leads to the fifth issue: access to clean water.

Finally, the summit will also discuss security measures in the region, including the limited access Muslim residents of Jerusalem have to Al Aqsa mosque, a key site of Islamic worship.

The summit will be attended by 56 OIC member countries, with the addition of representatives from the so-called Quartet (United States, Russia, UN and European Union), the UN Security Council, as well as observer countries.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/153314

-- Thai PBS 2016-03-03

Seems to cover most of the main issues.

It keeps the Palestinian struggle for self determination in the spotlight.

And representing almost a quarter of the world's population will give their decisions some clout.

Now wait for the TV pro-Israel lobby to arrive, firing from the hip and trying to deny these issues exist and stating that the opinions of the OIC don't matter. Pretty much like UN resolutions and recommendations don't matter to Israel and its supporters.