Media forum calls for action on Israeli settlements

A virtual media forum organized by the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA) on Sunday issued a call for stronger cooperation among news agencies and media institutions to bring attention to Israeli colonies, particularly the E1 settlement project, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The forum's recommendations emphasized sustained media coverage of the E1 colonial plan and its developments, utilizing the OIC's legal and media observatories.

Participants urged media outlets in OIC member states to enhance communication and coordination with Palestinian experts.

The forum recommended convening a joint international conference between the OIC and the United Nations to develop a time-bound action plan addressing Israeli colonies.

It stressed cooperation with UN mechanisms to monitor colony construction, land seizures, demolitions, forced displacement, and colonist violence.

The recommendations called for banning trade, investment, financing, and public procurement linked to colonies.

They demanded the imposition of coordinated sanctions on entities responsible for colony expansion, forced displacement, and colonist violence.

Palestine's Permanent Representative to the OIC, Ambassador Hadi Shibli, commended the forum's outcomes and recommendations.

The E1 settlement project is a significant issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with implications for the two-state solution.

The project has been widely criticized for its potential to fragment Palestinian territory and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state.

The international community has long called for a freeze on settlement expansion and a return to peace negotiations.