Dhaka seeks two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday urged all concerned to revive the Middle East peace process and adopt a constructive approach to negotiations under a two-state solution. He also said the latest US announcement recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital will jeopardise efforts towards finding a durable solution to the Palestinian question. "The unwelcome announcement on December 6 has come as a shock and outrage to Islamic feelings,” the President said while addressing the Sixth Extraordinary OIC Summit held at Congress and Exhibition Centre (ICEC) in Istanbul.

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“The announcement may trigger grave consequences and threats to international peace and security by inflaming the Muslim world and raising new waves of tension, hostility and violent extremism in the already volatile region of the Middle East." The president said Bangladesh had reaffirmed its “unswerving position” in favour of establishing the State of Palestine on the basis of pre-67 borders with East Jerusalem-Al Quds as its capital. “The people of Bangladesh stand in full solidarity with their Palestinian brothers and sisters facing this travesty of fairness and justice,” he said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan greets Bangladesh President M Abdul Hamid upon the latter's arrival at the Sixth Extraordinary OIC Summit held in Istanbul's Congress and Exhibition Centre (CEC) on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 PID"A Palestinian State must be spatially and demographically contiguous, viable in a political and economic way, and stable with just and lasting peace arrangements.” Abdul Hamid said the move by US President Donald Trump was made in “blatant violation” of international law and a number of UN Security Council resolutions. "In the widely-held view, the decision has drastically reduced the credibility of the US Administration as an honest mediator in the Arab-Israeli peace process," he said. The Bangladesh president said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) cannot remain a bystander over the issue.

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“We must engage the international community proactively, with immediate action by the Ministerial Group on Al Quds, to reach out to important state capitals as well as with activation of OIC Ambassadors in New York, Geneva and Brussels, and mobilize international pressure on Israel for halting and reversing its policies and practices,” he said. “We must also go ahead with practicable OIC decisions made so far on Al Quds in a focused manner." Hamid also called upon the OIC member states to exert continued pressure on Myanmar so that the displaced Rohingyas can return to their ancestral home in Rakhine State with “safety, security and dignity”. He said the root cause of the Rohingya problem must be addressed with the restoration of their citizenship and all related rights by Myanmar.