GCC, Islamic nations condemn assassination of Hamas leader

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) has condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, stressing that this operation is part of a series of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people.In a statement yesterday, the GCC Secretary-General Jassim Mohamed AlBudawi, called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and abandon policies of violence and the use of force.He noted that the assassination is a dangerous indicator of the Israeli occupation’s lack of seriousness in reaching a political solution and restoring security and stability in the region, and that it clearly undermines the peace efforts being made.The statement reiterated the GCC’s position on the need to stop the war in Gaza and for permanent ceasefire, and to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people to achieve their national goals of establishing their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders, and to provide a just solution to the refugee issue, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.It called on the international community and influential countries to assume their responsibilities, and move immediately to provide protection for the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, and to stop the violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, and to engage seriously in the political solution to the crisis, and to allow the arrival of humanitarian aid.ISLAMIC NATIONSSLAM ISRAELArab and Islamic countries have also condemned the assassination of the Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Haniyeh, and warned over the policy of assassinations and breaching the states’ sovereignty, that could imperil the Middle East region and drag it into the cycle of chaos and undermine peace opportunities.Jordan has condemned, in strongest terms, this assassination and deemed it a breach of international law and international humanitarian law and an escalatory crime that would foment further tension and chaos in the region.Spokesperson for the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, ambassador Sufian al-Qudah, underscored his country’s unwavering position on rejecting the violation of states sovereignty and international law, and condemning political assassinations, violence and terrorism, whatever the motives. He warned that such crimes would only drag the region into a metastasized war and threaten regional and global security and peace.Al-Qudah underlined that the international community must shoulder its responsibility and take immediate measures that impose cessation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza and violations against international law and the UN resolutions.He stressed that these measures must protect security and stability of the region from the relentless catastrophic consequences of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, as well as the aggravation of violations and crimes against Palestinians rights.At an extraordinary meeting of his government, Prime Minister of Lebanon’s caretaker government, Najib Mikati, said this act underscores the danger of the spillover of cycle of global concern and peril in the region. He called on the international community to compel the Israeli occupation to ceasefire and comport with international resolutions and laws, in addition to implementing the resolution 1701, confirming that the assassination of Haniyeh has shifted the situation from engagement to an open dangerous posture due to profound fears.Algeria expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of Haniyeh’s assassination, with the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community abroad, Ahmed Attaf, condemning this dastardly and heinous act on the part of the Israeli occupation forces.Attaf confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces are proceeding with their indifference and non-recognition of the simplest humanitarian, legal, political, moral rules and regulations.Additionally, Malaysia condemned the assassination of Haniyeh and considered it the most brutal homicide, with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Anwar Ibrahim, highlighting the objective of the assassination as to unequivocally impede the ongoing talks that aim to end the massacre in Gaza that has killed over 40,000 people.He added that this crime would never have happened in a peaceful environment devoid of impunity, expressing his deep concern over the ramifications of this incident on the Palestinian people who have been exposed to much pain and suffering for many decades.RECKLESS ACT: PAKISTANPakistan said yesterday the killing of Hamas’s political leader in an air strike in neighbouring Iran blamed on Israel was a "reckless act”, while hundreds of supporters of an Islamist party held a symbolic funeral near Islamabad, AFP reported.Describing the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh as "terrorism”, Islamabad’s foreign ministry said in a statement that "Pakistan views with serious concern the growing Israeli adventurism in the region.”"Its latest acts constitute a dangerous escalation in an already volatile region and undermine efforts for peace”, it said.In the evening, more than a thousand supporters of the country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, gathered in Rawalpindi, a large city on the outskirts of Islamabad, hailing the "martyr Ismail Haniyeh” while booing Israel and America."I am here to show solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Palestine”, Syed Obaid ur Rehman, a 25-year-old student, told AFP."I cannot be there physically but at least I can demonstrate here to make the voice of Palestine heard.”Sajid Hussain, a 28-year-old civil servant, said Haniyeh’s "martyrdom is a huge loss for the Muslim world”.Haniyeh had travelled to Tehran to attend Tuesday’s swearing-in of Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.