The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) again denounced yesterday Sunday that “genocide” is being committed in the Gaza Strip, calling on its 57 member states to proceed with the imposition of “sanctions” on Israel, with a resolution adopted at the end of its session in Banjul .

The resolution, consulted by AFP, calls on member states to “exert diplomatic, political and legal pressure” and to apply “sanctions” at levels such as “economic, sporting, cultural and international” against Israel.

Furthermore, the OIS calls for an “immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire” to be declared.

Besides, the resolution demands to “stop the export of weapons and ammunition used by the army” of Israel “to commit the crime of genocide in Gaza”, without going into details.

Few of the African heads of state made the trip to the capital of Gambia for the 15th session of the OIS, which began yesterday Saturday. The vast majority of presidents or heads of state sent representatives.

The Organization, founded in 1969 in the ashes of the Al-Aqsa Mosque fire in Jerusalem, aims to increase Muslim solidarity, support the Palestinian struggle and protect Muslim holy sites.

In November 2023, the OIC met in Riyadh, at the same time as the Arab League, condemning the operations of the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip, but without calling for the imposition of economic and political punitive measures against Israel.

That meeting had highlighted disagreements over how the armed conflict should be dealt with, against the background of fears that it could ignite in the Middle East.

At the weekend, international attention was on Cairo, where negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip were taking place, accompanied by the release of hostages, but seven months after the outbreak of war, Israel and Hamas have not budged from their their positions.

The war broke out on October 7, when members of Hamas’ military wing launched an unprecedented raid on southern parts of the Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally by AFP based on official Israeli data.

Another 250 people were kidnapped and 128 of them are believed to be still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, but 35 are believed to be dead, according to Israeli sources.

In retaliation, Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, and its large-scale military operations have so far killed at least 34,683 people, most of them civilians, according to the Palestinian Islamist movement’s health ministry.