OIC demands end to Israel's attacks against Palestinians.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called on Sunday for an immediate halt to Israel's barbaric attacks on Gaza and blamed 'systematic crimes' against the Palestinians for hostilities now in their seventh day.

The OIC statement came after a virtual meeting in which Saudi Arabia condemned the violation of the sanctity of Muslim holy sites and evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.

The 57-member body accused the United Nations Security Council of inertia. Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei issued a separate statement on Sunday, tweeted by Malaysia's premier, calling for an emergency UN General Assembly meeting.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates called for a ceasefire. The UAE and Bahrain had along with other Arab states last year broken a longstanding taboo in the region by establishing formal ties with Israel, with tacit approval from Gulf power Riyadh.

'De-escalation and the highest degree of restraint are important to avoid dragging the region to new levels of instability,' said UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem al-Hashimy.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday, while reaffirming Pakistan's abiding support for the Palestinian people, called for immediate protection of Palestinians against 'senseless Israeli aggression', implementation of United Nations resolutions, and accountability of Israel's crimes against humanity.

Addressing the virtual open-ended emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) executive committee to discuss Israel's aggression against Palestine, the foreign minister stressed that all necessary steps must be taken for stopping the ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people and their properties.

He said the international community must protect the Palestinians against the blatant and illegal use of force and flagrant violations of human rights.

'It should urgently intervene and take concerted actions to stop Israeli atrocities against civilian population in Gaza. The bombardment in Gaza must be stopped immediately,' he added.

FM Qureshi also underlined that implementing forthwith resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council was both critical and urgent.

Israel's crimes against humanity should not escape accountability, he said, adding, there should be no impunity for Israel's violation of international law, including the fourth Geneva and the other various...