…Palestine, MURIC kick

Palestinian representative in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Muhannad al-Akluk said in a statement that Nigeria’s abstention on Palestine, despite being a member of the OIC, was a “clear contradiction” and violated numerous resolutions passed at the organisation’s summits in support of Palestine, Ma’an news agency reported.
Both Nigeria and the Palestinian Authority are among OIC’s 57 member states.
He called on the OIC to deal with what he termed the “unacceptable” contradiction of a member state abstaining from the vote while European states voted in favour of the resolution.
The OIC also expressed deep regret at the failure of the UN Security Council to approve the Arab draft resolution seeking a three-year timeframe to end Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
OIC Secretary-General Iyad Amin Madani said in a statement that the countries that rejected the draft resolution had forgotten that the Palestinians have spent more than 20 years at the negotiating table while Israel expanded settlements throughout the West Bank.
Also, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has described the abstention of Nigeria from voting as an “insensitive and ignoble decision.”
MURIC’s Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, in a statement yesterday said that it was astounded by the “conservative shift” in Nigeria’s foreign policy.
It also charged the National Assembly to turn its attention to the decision.
Also in its reaction, the Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) yesterday said the refusal of Nigeria to vote for Palestinian statehood by abstaining is historic with serious implications in the face for impetus for peace in the Middle-East region.
Executive chairman of the organisation, Disu Kamor, said in a statement that Nigeria’s stance is regrettable given that the conflict in Palestine is largely based on the historic wrong of the dispossession of Palestinians.
Kamor said Nigeria’s “no-vote” sends a clear message to the Palestinians about where the country stands on the issues of peace and justice.
He regretted that despite international regulations requiring Israel to ensure access to Christian and Muslim holy places that are under its control for over 15 years, Christians in Palestine have been prevented from freely entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for worship, and during Christmas, while many in Bethlehem are prevented from travelling to Jerusalem.