Riyadh, July 26 (QNA) - Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi condemned in the strongest terms the burning of a mosque by Israeli colonists in the village of Kur in Tulkarm Governorate, as well as the racist slogans they scrawled on its walls.

He described the attack as a treacherous assault targeting places of worship and Islamic holy sites, saying it constituted a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims worldwide.

Albudaiwi said the "heinous crime" was part of an ongoing series of violations and attacks targeting the Palestinian people and their holy sites. He held the Israeli occupation forces fully responsible for this crime and the repeated attacks, saying that policies of protecting or turning a blind eye to colonists' assaults had encouraged impunity and a absence of accountability, leading to a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and stability.

He stressed that targeting places of worship constitutes a blatant violation of the sanctity of holy sites and a dangerous breach of universal human values and international conventions that guarantee the protection of religious sites and freedom of worship.

Albudaiwi also called on the international community, the UN Security Council, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to assume their legal and moral responsibilities by taking urgent action to halt these grave violations, hold the perpetrators accountable, and provide international protection for the Palestinian people and their holy sites.

He warned that continued international silence over such crimes encourages their recurrence and undermines efforts to achieve security and peace in the region. 

Albudaiwi reiterated the GCC's firm stance in support of the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.​ (QNA)