Speakers of the parliaments of Mali, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Qatar, Pakistan and Turkey as well as MPs from Kuwait and Chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) Salim Zanoun took part in the one-day meeting on Tuesday.
Addressing the meeting, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called the Israeli attacks on Gazans “an ethnic cleansing.”
“This act of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Gaza is an ethnic cleansing. And this is a massacre, violation of international law and warmongering in the region,” he said.
“Massacring children, women and people of Gaza is a war crime and violation of human rights.”
Larijani also criticized the inaction of the US and certain Arab states against the crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.
He added that PUIC is duty-bound to help the Palestinians against atrocities of Tel Aviv.
“The Israeli army has been using internationally banned weapons against civilians in the besieged Gaza.”
The Iranian speaker also called on the Egyptian officials to open Rafah border crossing for humanitarian aid, particularly for the transfer and treatment of wounded Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli warplanes have been hitting numerous targets in the Gaza Strip, demolishing homes and burying families in the rubble since July 8. Israeli tanks also began a ground offensive against the impoverished Palestinian land on July 17.
The Israeli raids have killed more than 630 Palestinians and injured 3,500 others so far. Around 30 Israelis have also been killed in the war.
Palestinian resistance movements in the besieged Gaza Strip have responded to Israel’s aggression by targeting towns and cities deep inside the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli regime has imposed an all-out land, aerial, and naval blockade on Gaza since June 2007. The siege has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the impoverished enclave.
The PUIC Presidential Troika consists of the previous, current, and future presidents of the PUIC Conference, which is currently presided by Iran.
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