The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has met, on the sidelines of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, with the Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. The Secretary General expressed to the Palestinian President the OIC's deep concern over the issue of Israeli settlement in the Palestinian occupied territories and Jerusalem (Al-Quds) and assured the President the full support of the OIC to the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian people. Prof. Ihsanoglu wished to the Palestinian President a success in the peace process and the current negotiations towards the full attainment of the national rights of the Palestinian people. President Abbas commended the efforts of the OIC and that of the Secretary General to support and help the Palestinians in their endeavor to establish a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital. With regard to Israeli settlement, he reiterated to the Secretary General his position and the position of Palestinian Authority that there will be no direct negotiations if Israel fails to extend the halt of settlement building in the Palestinian territories, according to a press release of the OIC.
