The clash between Israel and Palestine has escalated over the past few days. On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 Palestinians. Out of the ten deceased, 8 were children. It has been observed that as more pounding is carried out by the Israeli Defence forces, the stronger the support base for Hamas grows in the region. Palestine witnessed some of the most widespread protests in years.
In this regard, to initiate a peace process, Saudi Arabia has called for foreign ministers of the member states of the world’s largest body of Muslim nations to hold a meeting on Sunday. This planned gathering would be to discuss Israeli acts of violence against Palestinians and the Israeli police’s use of force against protesters at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a city which has been the centre of conflict in the region for 1000 years.
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The body of the Islamic nations, OIC said on Saturday that the Saudi kingdom will host the virtual summit, gathering ministers of the 57-nation-body of Organization of Islamic Cooperation “to discuss the Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territory,” particularly the acts of violence in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
To escape the Israeli artillery fire, thousands of Palestinian families have taken shelter in United Nations-run schools in northern Gaza. United Nations has said that it estimates that approximately 10,000 Palestinians have left their homes in Gaza amid the Israeli offensive. Since Monday, in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, at least 139 Palestinians, including 39 children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip. Around 950 others have been wounded. Israeli forces have killed at least 13 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The IDF forces have been pounding the people protesting against continued Israeli occupation and the ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
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Iran’s protests against Austria for Israeli flag hoisting
The Israel-Palestine conflict has led to development of diplomatic friction between Iran and Austria. Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign minister of Iran has called off a planned visit to his Austrian counterpart in Vienna. This decision from Iran came after Austria’s chancellery and foreign ministry flew the Israeli flag, as a signal of solidarity in Israel’s conflict with the militant group- Hamas.
On Saturday, the Austrian daily Die Presse reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was due to meet Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg on Saturday morning. But, Zarif called off the trip over the decision by the Austrian leaders to fly the Israeli flag on Friday.
As part of US response to the conflict, President Biden has spoken to Netanyahu, two days back, saying that ‘Israel has right to defend itself’.
