Jeddah (UNA) - The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ambassador Hadi Shibli, expressed his appreciation to the OIC, its member states and various institutions for their firm positions and tireless efforts in defense of the rights of the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites. He also thanked the OIC General Secretariat and the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA) for their sponsorship and joint organization of the “Palestine: Land, People and Identity” exhibition, which was held today, Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.
Shibli said that such events constitute a cultural bridge that conveys the truth and narrates the story and journey of the Palestinian people in the face of a historical injustice that has lasted 77 years. This tells the world: “We are here... staying on our land... steadfast, we will not leave,” reminding the international community that justice begins with recognizing the history, existence, national identity, and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
He added, "In this crucial context, organizing this exhibition comes within the framework of confronting Israeli plans aimed at distorting collective consciousness, obliterating the living memory of generations, and liquidating the Palestinian refugee issue. It is an affirmation that rights do not expire with the passage of time, and that the Nakba, displacement, and the camp in the history of the Palestinian people are not fate, but rather an open memory that recounts the journey of a people who transformed tents into schools, destruction into fortresses of dignity, suffering into steadfastness, and the camp into a return visa."
Ambassador Shibli commemorated the caravans of righteous martyrs from the Palestinian people since 1948, wishing a speedy recovery to the tens of thousands of wounded. He also saluted the valiant prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons who continue to struggle for freedom, justice, and dignity. He also saluted all the Palestinian people who carried the keys to their abandoned homes as a sacred legacy, transforming them into a symbol of their homeland, their right to return, and their hope for liberation.
Shibli considered the commemoration of the 77th anniversary of the Nakba at the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) a living testimony that the Palestinian cause is the central issue of this organization, and that the Islamic position is unified in rejecting and confronting the historical injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people. He praised the positions and efforts of the OIC, both states and institutions, in defending the Palestinian cause, especially the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, headed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has acted responsibly on the international stage to convey the suffering of the Palestinian people and mobilize support and recognition of their legitimate rights.
“The 1948 Nakba was the largest ethnic cleansing operation in Palestinian history, with the Israeli occupation committing more than 70 massacres that led to the deaths of 15 martyrs, the destruction of 531 villages, and the displacement of more than 800 Palestinians. Israel, the occupying power, continues to renew its chapters through decades of occupation, settlement, escalating aggression, and genocide against the Palestinian people, our land, our holy sites, and our national identity. It refuses to implement international legitimacy resolutions requiring the return of Palestinian refugees to the homes from which they were forcibly displaced,” he said.
He reiterated the responsibility of the United Nations, particularly the UN Security Council, towards the Palestinian cause, by implementing its resolutions calling for an end to the crimes of occupation, settlement, aggression, siege and genocide to which the Palestinian people are subjected throughout the Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip, and by activating international justice mechanisms to hold Israeli criminals accountable.
He also warned of the seriousness of the suffering of the Holy City of Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, which has become a beacon that ignites the memory of the Nakba that has extended since 1948 through the policies of occupation, colonial settlement, isolation, Judaization, land confiscation, home demolitions, desecration of holy sites, falsification of history, and attempts to obliterate its Arab and Islamic landmarks. He called for the need to provide all forms of support to this holy city, to strengthen the steadfastness of its people, and to preserve its Arab identity.
Shibli declared his rejection of all Israeli measures against UNRWA, which represents a lifeline for more than six million Palestinian refugees. He called for increased political, financial, and legal support for this UN agency, which embodies the world's commitment to the rights of Palestinian refugees based on UN resolutions, including Resolution 194.
Shibli praised the role of media workers who carry the message of truth, confront false narratives, and honestly and transparently convey the voice of the Palestinian people, their suffering, and their narrative to the world. “Their efforts remind the human conscience that Palestine is not a land without a people, or a disputed geography. Rather, it is a homeland for a people who cherish their soil, defend their sanctities and national identity, and aspire, like the rest of the peoples of the world, to achieve freedom, independence, justice, and dignity.”
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