Jakarta. Indonesia and fellow members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, call for an immediate Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire, as death toll mounts amid the escalating conflict.

On Sunday, the OIC held a virtual foreign ministerial meeting on Israel aggression.

At the meeting, Indonesia —represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi— reaffirmed their unwavering support for Palestine. Indonesia also proposed three key steps for the OIC to take. And the first step to resolving the conflict is for the OIC to unite.

“Without unity, OIC will be unable to drive international support for Palestine,” Retno said in a press statement on Sunday.

“[The second key step is for] every OIC country to use their respective influence to encourage an immediate ceasefire. All violence must be put to a halt,” the diplomat added.

Last but not least, OIC must remain focused on achieving Palestinian independence. 

“OIC must work harder to push for the resumption of a credible multilateral negotiation, which refers to internationally agreed parameters, in order to achieve a lasting peace based on two-state solution principles,” Retno said.

“Together we have to act now. ” 

Act Swiftly

The foreign ministerial meeting resulted in a resolution, in which the OIC condemns Israel’s "barbaric attacks" against the Palestinian people. OIC also urged the United Nations (UN) Security Council to act swiftly to resolve the issue.

In the resolution, OIC “reiterates that failure of the Security Council to assume its responsibility to deal with this crisis will necessitate approaching the United Nations General Assembly to assume its responsibility.” 

“Including resumption of the proceedings of the Tenth Emergency Special Session to stop Israeli aggression in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

In a joint statement released on Sunday, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam called for the UN Security Council to take all possible measures to protect the Palestinian civilians throughout the occupied territory.

"Bearing in mind the international community, and the United Nations Security Council, in particular, has a special responsibility to call for a cessation of all violence and fulfill its obligation of upholding international peace," the statement read.

The joint statement was released by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. 

They also called for the UN General Assembly to convene an emergency session and come up with a uniting for peace resolution to end the atrocities against the Palestinian people.

"We call upon the international community to remain resolute in their commitment to safeguarding the "two-state solution" towards achieving an independent State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," they added.

Meanwhile, Israel continued to pound Gaza with air strikes over the weekend. According to BBC, Palestinian officials in Gaza named Sunday as the deadliest day since the current fighting with Israel began. Sunday's Israeli air strikes had killed 42 people, including 16 women and 10 children.

"The overall death toll in Gaza now stands at 188 people, including 55 children and 33 women, with 1,230 injured, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. Israel says dozens of militants are among the dead," BBC wrote on Monday.