OIC To Hold Emergency Meeting Over Netanyahu's Pledge To Extend Israeli Territory

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency meeting at the foreign minister level at the request of Saudi Arabia to discuss the recent controversial pledge of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex territories in the Jordan Valley, OIC Secretary General Yousef Othaimeen said on Wednesday

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2019) The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency meeting at the foreign minister level at the request of Saudi Arabia to discuss the recent controversial pledge of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex territories in the Jordan Valley, OIC Secretary General Yousef Othaimeen said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu made a post-election promise to establish Israel's sovereignty over the northern part of the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley, a region located on the border between the West Bank and Jordan.

Othaimeen announced that the OIC will convene an emergency meeting of foreign ministers at the request of Saudi Arabia to discuss Netanyahu's statement and work out urgent political and legal measures, the organization said on its website.

Othaimeen has also called for the unity of Islamic countries vis-a-vis Israel's stance.

Israel was forced to call a snap general election after Netanyahu failed to form a government following the previous election in April. The new vote is scheduled to take place on September 17.

For decades, Israel has been in conflict with Palestinians, who have been seeking diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip.