Ishaq Dar to attend emergency OIC moot in Jeddah as Muslim states rally against Israeli moves

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will travel to Jeddah on Wednesday to attend an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), convened to deliberate on the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East and Israel’s actions in Palestine.

The high-level meeting, scheduled for February 26 at the OIC General Secretariat, will be held at the level of foreign ministers. Diplomatic sources said the session has been called in response to recent developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly Israel’s reported moves to declare lands in the occupied West Bank as illegal Israeli property.

Sources indicated that member states are expected to strongly condemn Israel’s legal, political and demographic measures in the occupied Palestinian areas, terming them violations of international law and a threat to regional stability. Participating countries are also likely to discuss a coordinated diplomatic strategy to counter Israeli actions.

Dar is expected to present Pakistan’s position with a forceful denunciation of what Islamabad considers unlawful Israeli policies and decisions. On the sidelines of the meeting, he is also anticipated to hold talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and other key leaders attending the session.

The emergency meeting comes amid intensifying tensions following remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said during a cabinet meeting ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tel Aviv that Israel would create “an entire system—essentially a kind of hexagon of alliances—around or within the Middle East.”

Netanyahu listed India, Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration and unnamed Arab, African and Asian countries as potential partners in what he described as an “axis” aligned against so-called radical blocs. Modi is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday and address the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

In Islamabad, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution strongly condemning and rejecting Netanyahu’s remarks, expressing concern that such narratives threaten the unity of the Muslim Ummah. The House criticised any attempt to alter the legal or historical status of the occupied Palestinian territories, including holy sites, and denounced Israel’s settlement expansion and displacement of Palestinians.

Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank—including settlement expansion, demolition of Palestinian homes and forced displacement—have drawn widespread international criticism in recent years. Observers say the escalating measures have deepened the humanitarian crisis and further diminished prospects for a just and lasting peace in the region.