'Ethnic cleansing' in Jerusalem

2008-03-14 07:26

Heidi Vogt

Dakar - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas slammed Israel on Thursday for implementing policies he described as "ethnic cleansing" in predominantly Palestinian east Jerusalem, raising taxes and forcing the Palestinians living there to stop construction.

"Our people in Jerusalem are under an ethnic cleansing campaign," Abbas said in a speech as dozens of Islamic countries gathered for a two-day summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

"They are suffering from a series of decisions like tax hikes and construction prohibitions."

Abbas said Palestinians "are facing a campaign of annihilation" by the Israeli state.

In Washington, US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said that "we would not use that term to describe the situation. I think it's probably an example of some overheated political rhetoric."

Key support from fellow Muslims

"We would urge both sides, both the Israelis and the Palestinians, to keep their focus on the political process and also to adhere to their road map obligations."

At the summit of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the world's largest Muslim organisation, Abbas appealed to Muslim leaders for support during a "difficult junction" in the Mideast peace process.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who is chairing the organisation, condemned Israeli attacks but also called for unity among feuding Palestinian factions.

US-backed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been strained by a recent surge in fighting.

Abbas said Palestinians expect Israel to meet "commitments to put an end to its aggressions and settlements expansion ... Yet what is taking place on the ground today is totally in violation of that."

He also called Israel "an occupying power" and urged its government to "immediately stop its disproportionate use of force."

The Palestinian delegation declared the summit a success even before it began, saying earlier on Thursday it had garnered key support from fellow Muslims.

OIC summits are traditionally held every three years, and the agenda this year included studying ways to improve Islam's image in the West and spurring economic development in some of the world's poorest countries.

On the sidelines

Sudan's Omar al-Bashir met with Chad's Idriss Deby, said Senegalese presidential spokesperson Fatou Tandiang.

Wade has tried to cast himself as a continental peacemaker and had hoped to bring the two leaders together to sign a peace deal on the eve of the summit. But Wednesday's talks were cancelled after al-Bashir, who was in Dakar, failed to show up. Al-Bashir said he had a headache and was too tired after a long journey.

The deal proposed by Senegal would have aimed to commit them to implementing earlier, faltered, accords in a step toward calming Darfur and other areas on their shared border.

- AP