31/10/09; (2 Items)
Established in 1969 to safeguard global Muslim interests, the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental body after the UN. In its 40-year history, the OIC has worked with the UN and others to settle conflicts and disputes, particularly among its member states. While the preamble to the OIC’s charter holds that Islam “is a strong factor for rapprochement and solidarity between peoples”, conflicts continue to rage in many parts of the Muslim world. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary-general of the OIC, says the organisation has gained prominence in recent years as a trusted mediator in conflicts involving the Muslim world and was the “initiator” of a UN war crimes inquiry in Gaza.
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/10/20091021112649368100.html; Israel envoy to UN: Human Rights Council betrayed its own values; Shlomo Shamir; 30/10/09; http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1124803.html
Israel levels Palestinian homes
31/10/09
Israeli authorities have torn down several Palestinian houses in occupied east Jerusalem, defying international calls to halt the demolitions in the disputed city. Gidi Schmerling, a Jerusalem municipality spokesman, said the houses in the Shuafat, Zur Baher, Silwan and Jabel Mukabar neighbourhoods were pulled down on Tuesday because they had been built illegally. “All the houses were demolished in accordance with a court order,” he said in a statement to the AFP news agency. Palestinians say that the municipality discriminates against them, making it virtually impossible for them to get legal permits for new homes or extensions to existing ones. As a result, thousands of effectively illegal structures have been built in recent decades with Israel responding by destroying dozens of houses each year.
See; http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/10/200910282211496109.html; 6 rightists detained after armed brawl with Arabs in Jerusalem; 31/10/09; http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1124790.html