Organization of the Islamic Conference Condemns Jerusalem Attack

The Islamic world's largest political bloc, the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), condemned the killing of eight Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem seminary, saying it was “against any act of violence and terror anywhere in the world,” according to a statement released on its website on March 7. (full statement)

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu urged all parties “to act with calm and restraint in the face of this tragic event,” saying that “this vicious cycle of killing must be stopped.”

Ihsanoglu expressed his hope that the OIC condemnation would “open up the eyes of those who remained silent during the violence directed against innocent civilians, including children of Palestine.”

Eight students, most aged 15 and 16, were shot dead late on March 6 at the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, a theological school in predominantly Jewish west Jerusalem. Another ten were wounded.

The gunman, identified as Ala Abu Dhaim, a 25 year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem, was shot dead by police.