OIC leaders declared Trump’s decision “null and void legally” and “a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts” that would give impetus to “extremism and terrorism.”
ISTANBUL — Leaders from the the world’s main pan-Islamic body on Wednesday urged the international community to recognize East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital after US President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel.
The emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul said it declared “East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine” and invited “all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital,” according to the final statement.
They declared Trump’s decision “null and void legally” and “a deliberate undermining of all peace efforts” that would give impetus to “extremism and terrorism.”
The statement said the OIC summit regarded Trump’s move “as an announcement of the US administration’s withdrawal from its role as sponsor of peace” in the Middle East.
The step by Washington amounted to “encouragement of Israel… to continue its policy of colonialism, settlement, apartheid and ethnic cleansing,” it added.
The United States has chosen to lose its qualification as a mediator … We will no longer accept that it has a role in the political process from now.
Earlier, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Arab and Islamic leaders that the United States is no longer fit to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and should be replaced as mediator by the United Nations, outlining a significant policy shift in response to President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In an impassionate speech, Abbas said his people will no longer accept the United States as a peace broker but added that they remain committed to international resolutions which have formed the basis of the process.
Abbas said Trump’s decision was a “crime” which came at a time when the Palestinians were engaged with Washington in a new push to reach what he said was anticipated to be the “deal of our times.”
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“Instead we got the slap of our times,” Abbas said. “The United States has chosen to lose its qualification as a mediator … We will no longer accept that it has a role in the political process from now.”In his over-an-hour-long speech, Abbas also urged Muslim nations and countries with relations with Israel to take necessary political and economic measures against Israel “to force it to abide by international consensus” to end its occupation of Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — the current president of the OIC — called on countries to urgently recognize the Palestinian state and Jerusalem as its capital.
Erdogan has been among the most vocal critics of Trump’s announcement. In remarks to the summit, he said Israel is an “occupying state” and a “terror state.”
Erdogan — who regards himself a champion of the Palestinian cause — denounced Israel as a state defined by “occupation” and “terror”, in a new diatribe against the Israeli leadership.
“With this decision, Israel was rewarded for all the terrorist activities it has carried out. It is Trump who bestowed this award even,” he said.
King Abdullah II of Jordan told the gathering that the Trump decision was “grave”, threatening the resumption of any peace talks.
“Palestinians have the right to East Jerusalem as their capital,” said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday during his annual speech outlining his government’s priorities for the coming year.
“The Kingdom has called for a political solution to resolve regional crises, foremost of which is the Palestinian issue and the restoration of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights, including the right to establish their independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” the king was quoted as saying.
He, however, did not attend the emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul
A surprise guest was Venezuela’s leftist President Nicolas Maduro whose country has no significant Muslim population but is a bitter critic of US policy. — Agencies