The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state
The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has recognized East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and invited other countries to follow suit.
Following the summit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen held a joint press conference to announce its results.
The OIC further urged the U.S. to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision in a statement issued following an extraordinary summit in Istanbul.
A copy of the draft declaration, tweeted by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the meeting rejected and condemned the U.S. move “in the strongest terms”.
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians can no longer accept the U.S. as mediator in the peace process since it has lost impartiality and We will aply to the UN Security Council for the annulment of US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Lebanese President Michel Aoun are among the heads of state attending the emergency summit in Istanbul, as well as the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait and presidents of Afghanistan and Indonesia.
Erdoğan once again urged all countries which have not already done so to recognize the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict; with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognized internationally, and all countries currently maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. However, President Trump has announced that the US will eventually move its embassy.