Address by His Excellency

Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri(*)

Praise be to Allah and peace and prayers be upon the Prophet, his family and companions.

Excellency Dr. Ahmed Heleel, Minister of Waqfs and Religious Affairs of the Islamic Holy Sites, representative of His Majesty the Hashemite King Abdallah II Ibn Al Hussein, may Allah preserve him,

Eminencies and Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatu Allah taala wa barakatuh,

It is for me a great honour and joy to address you today at the opening of the 2nd International Conference on the Protection of Islamic and Holy Sites in the beloved and cherished Palestine. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and profound expressions of gratitude to His Hashemite Majesty, King Abdullah II Ibn Hussein, may Allah preserve him, who has gracefully accepted to bestow his high patronage on this international conference, translating his attachment to the holy sites in the land of prophecy, and reaffirming a stance that modern history is witness to, namely the dedication of the Hashemite family to the preservation and protection of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine. Allah has decreed that such a human and civilisational mission be discharged by this Arab Hashemite kingdom since its creation in the second decade of the previous century, today, and until such time as when our shared dream of liberating Palestine, achieving its independence and establishing the state of Palestine with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital, becomes a reality by the grace of Allah, and thanks to solidarity, cooperation and co-ordination, and to the unstinting support for the Palestinian people. Today's conference is one advanced form of this support.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Arab and Islamic Ummah has lost a great fighter and a seasoned leader of the Palestinian people, Mr. Yasser Arafat, may Allah bestow his mercy on him and grant him the blessings of paradise. Although his passing away was an irreplaceable loss to all of us, we are positive that his companions and comrades-in-arms in the Palestinian legitimate and just struggle, will, by the grace of Allah, continue his struggle for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Al Quds as its capital. It is high time that the harsh suffering and the unending pain caused by the relentless Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people with all its denominations and regions be brought to an end. Time does not allow for an in-depth review of the tragedies, threats and challenges, nor for a detailed analysis of the conditions prevailing in Palestine. Suffice it to say that all holy sites and sanctities in the Palestinian territories, Islamic and Christian alike, are under serious threats that exceed in their magnitude the danger to peace and security, in this holy land and in the whole world, and all that was committed against it in the past. Therefore, at the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, we have decided to hold the second session of the Conference, in cooperation with the National Jordanian Commission on Education, Sciences and Culture, to reveal the truth and to urge the international public opinion to play its part and discharge its moral duty towards this important issue.

The dangers besieging Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine have only grown worse since the first conference held in Rabat in June 2002, under the high patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI, Monarch of the Kingdom of Morocco, may Allah preserve him. The general situation in the Palestinian territories has also worsened, and the conditions of the Palestinian people have been aggravated.

We do know that the Israeli authorities have little regard for international resolutions or for international law; they also pay no heed to the appeals and statements made by international conferences held here and there on the general situation in Palestine. Yet this impossible situation which reflects a most blatant defiance of international legitimacy should not be allowed to break our will and determination and to prevent us from accomplishing the duty we have mobilised ourselves for, namely championing and supporting the Palestinian people, defending their national rights, and endeavouring, through all means available, to marshal the international public opinion in a peaceful but widespread move aimed at ensuring the protection of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine.

Our responsibilities towards Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine spring from our commitment at the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, to the Palestinian cause which we all believe to be the essence of all issues and the supreme task in the Islamic world and the eastern Christian circles that are part of our Arab and Islamic civilisation.

Many international organisations participate in exposing the crimes committed by the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian people. One of these bodies is the Human Rights Watch which has recently published an extremely important and detailed report on the situation in the Palestinian territories, describing the crimes perpetrated by Israel against Palestinian civilians, children in particular, and the demolition by the Israeli army of thousands of houses in the Gaza Strip in a blatant and unjustifiable breach of international law.

At the level of the United Nations, Mr. Peter Hansen, Representative of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) recently said that the demolitions of houses carried out by the Israeli forces in the camp of Jibalia were a blatant violation of international and human law.

These crimes that are very costly in terms of civilian lives and property in Palestine are matched only by the criminal acts and threats carried out against Islamic and Christian holy sites, considering the close bonds that exist between human beings and their sanctities. The tyranny, persecution and human rights abuses that target human beings in Palestine are comparable only to the arbitrary onslaught carried out against their holy sites and to the threats of annihilation and obliteration.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This international conference has to examine the situation in Palestine from these angles. It must reveal to the world that the Islamic and Christian holy sites in the Palestinian lands are subject to serious threats, and urge the international community to assume its human and moral responsibility and fulfil its legal obligation towards these holy sites.

It is an honour for me to reiterate to His Majesty my thanks for his high patronage and solicitous attention, and for having addressed this conference and graced it with his presence. I would also like to thank their eminencies the honourable Muslim scholars and Christian clerics, as well as the academic, religious and media personalities invited here. I beseech the Almighty to hasten the end of occupation in the Palestinian territories and the establishment of the independent state of Palestine, so that the third session of this Conference can be convened in Al Quds Al Sharif.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatu Allah taala wa barakatuh.

(*) Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation