Leaders of Islamic countries have called for East Jerusalem to be recognized as capital of Palestine, stating that Donald Trump’s move last week voided any US right to be a mediator of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
The leaders of the Muslim world, who gathered in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday for an emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have condemned the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The controversial move was branded as an “attack” on the rights of Palestinian people in the final declaration by the summit.The declaration says that the US decision on Jerusalem is equivalent to its withdrawal from the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, NTV broadcaster reported. The OIC has recognized East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, according to the broadcaster, citing the final declaration of the summit.
“The US administration should give up its role in the peace process, and if the US does not step back, it will be responsible for all the consequences,” the declaration states, as quoted by NTV.
The organization promised to take the discussion on Trump’s Jerusalem move to the UN General Assembly if the UN Security Council fails to take any action.
While speaking at the summit, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the speeding-up of the process of incorporating Palestine into international accords. He also condemned the "violence shown by Israel," extending his condolences to the ‘martyrs’ who have fallen protecting the State of Palestine.
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu voiced similar calls to “all other countries.”
"Firstly, the Palestinian state must be recognized by all other countries. We must all strive together for this," Cavusoglu said as foreign ministers convened ahead of the full summit meeting in Istanbul.
"We must encourage other countries to recognize the Palestinian state on the basis of its 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," he noted.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has described Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital as Trump’s “gift to the Zionist movement,” noting that extremists could use the move to “turn a political struggle into a religious one.”
Trump's controversial decision triggered protests across Muslim countries, amid warnings from Ankara that the US move would plunge the world "into a fire with no end."
Abbas said on Wednesday that he would seek a United Nations Security Council resolution to nullify Washington’s decision on Jerusalem, calling it the "greatest crime" and a striking violation of international law.
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