Islamic nations leaders gathered in Turkey for the summit of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation which is expected to result in a unified stance against President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It could also offer the Muslim world’s strongest response to Trump’s move, Associated Press reports.
Ankara criticized the weak Arab response on the issue and called for other countries to recognize a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Turkey heads the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and is the initiator for the summit. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was one of the most vocal critics of Washington’s move.
According to Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the OIC nations have gathered “to say stop to tyranny.” During the pre-summit meeting, Cavusoglu told the foreign ministers that Washington’s decision aims to legitimize Israel’s attempt to occupy Jerusalem.
“They expect the Islamic nation to remain silent. But we will never be silent. This bullying eliminates the possibility of peace and the grounds for shared life. The U.S.’ decision is null for us. We, who recognize east Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, should encourage other countries to recognize the Palestinian state within the foundation of the 1967 borders and the capital as East Jerusalem,” Cavusoglu said.
Some of the leaders who attended the summit were Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, Jordanian King Abdullah II and top ministers of numerous nations.
Last weekend Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo and urged the United States to rescind Trump’s decision and called for the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning it, but acknowledged that Washington would probably veto it.
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