The emergency meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to be held in Malaysia on Thursday would issue a declaration condemning the Israeli offensive in Lebanon and calling for an immediate ceasefire there, a senior official said on Monday.

The meeting would also discuss the establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping force there, with the involvement of Islamic nations, said Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar of Malaysia, chair of the OIC.

The gathering is expected to be attended by 10 to 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey, he told local reporters in Putrajaya, the administrative center of the Malaysian government.

Malaysia currently is the chairman of the OIC which groups 57 countries.

Source: Xinhua