Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, on Saturday, departed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to attend the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The meeting, scheduled for September 15, was convened by Saudi Arabia to discuss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of West Bank.
During a televised news conference on September 10, Netanyahu announced that he would move forward with the annexation plan if he were re-elected in Israel's upcoming general election.
OIC Secretary-General Dr Yousef Al Othaimeen stated that the meeting of foreign ministers would involve the discussion of urgently required political and legal steps against Israel's aggressive sentiments. He also described the meeting as an attempt to coordinate Islamic countries’ efforts to confront the declaration.
The OIC released a statement stating that it considered Netanyahu's statements as an aggression on the rights of Palestinian people and a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter, the principles of international law and relevant UN resolutions including Security Council resolutions 242 and 338.
The Maldivian government also issued a statement condemning Israel's plan as a violation of international law and a serious deterrent to lasting peace in the Middle East.
Extending full support to the Palestinian people, the government expressed its commitment to advocating for a two-state solution, involving an independent and sovereign Palestine based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
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