Emergency OIC Summit Declares:

Al-Quds, Capital of State of Palestine

Date: 13 December 2017 - 22:10

News ID: ۴۷۴۶۵

ISTANBUL (Dispatches) -- Islamic leaders on Wednesday urged the world to recognize occupied East Al-Quds as the so-called capital of Palestine, as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas warned the United States no longer had any role to play in the "peace” process.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened in Istanbul an emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), seeking a coordinated response to the recognition by U.S. President Donald Trump of Jerusalem Al-Quds as Israel's so-called capital.
With the Islamic world itself mired in division, the summit fell well short of agreeing any concrete sanctions against the Zionist regime or the United States.
But their final statement declared "East Al-Quds as the capital of the State of Palestine" and invited "all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Al-Quds as its occupied capital."
They also condemned "in the strongest terms the unilateral decision by the President of the United States America recognizing Al-Quds as the so-called capital of Israel, the occupying power."
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 status of Jerusalem Al-Quds is perhaps the most sensitive issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While the Zionist regime expands its illegal seizure the extremely sensitive city, the Palestinians want the eastern sector, which the international community regards as annexed by Israel as the capital of their future state.
Erdogan denounced Israel as a regime defined by "occupation" and "terror".
"With this decision, Israel was rewarded for all the terrorist activities it has carried out. It is Trump who bestowed this award even," said Erdogan, who holds the rotating chairmanship of the OIC.
He said all countries who "value international law and fairness" should recognize occupied Al-Quds as the capital of Palestine," saying Islamic countries would "never give up" on this demand.
Using unusually strong language, Abbas warned that there could be "no peace or stability" in the Middle East until Al-Quds is recognized as the capital of a Palestinian state.
Moreover, he said that with Trump's move the United States had withdrawn itself from a traditional role as the mediator in the search for Mideast "peace”.
"We do not accept any role of the United States in the political process from now on. Because it is completely biased towards Israel," he said.
The final statement from the OIC echoed this sentiment, saying Trump's move was "an announcement of the U.S. administration's withdrawal from its role as sponsor of peace" in the Middle East.
Abbas slammed the recognition by Trump of Jerusalem Al-Quds as the capital of Israel as a "gift" to the "Zionist movement" as if he "were giving away an American city," adding that Washington no longer had any role to play in the Middle East "peace” process.
At a post-summit news conference flanked by Abbas and OIC Secretary General Yousef al-Othaimeen, Erdogan said, "Today's summit was a message of decisiveness towards U.S. provocation. There is no need (for them) to continue with a mistake."
"We repeatedly warned the United States that it was plunging the region into fire with that wrong decision."
Saudi Snub?

But bridging the gaps in a Muslim political community was always a tall order, let alone announcing any concrete measures agreed between the 57 OIC member states.
Several key players, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, were unlikely to want to risk their key relationship with Washington for the sake of an anti-Washington OIC statement.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Lebanese President Michel Aoun were among the heads of state present, as well as the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait and presidents of Afghanistan and Indonesia.
The level of Saudi representation -- critical if the final statement is to carry long-term credibility -- was only at the level of a senior foreign ministry official.
"Some countries in our region are in cooperation with the United States and the Zionist regime and determining the fate of Palestine," seethed Rouhani, whose country does not recognize Israel and has dire relations with Saudi Arabia.
He said Trump's decision shows that the United States lacks any respect for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation. Rouhani also said on his Twitter account that the move showed that the U.S. was not "an honest mediator and will never be," adding that Washington only wanted to "secure the interests of the Zionists."
A surprise guest was Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro whose country has no significant Muslim population but is a bitter critic of U.S. policy.
As the OIC released its draft statement, Palestinians clashed with Zionist troops around Hebron (Al-Khalil), in the occupied West Bank. The Mista'arvim, Israeli spies disguised as protesters, kidnapped demonstrators near the illegal settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah.
In Al-Birah, also near Ramallah, Israeli troops fired rubber coated bullets and tear gas at Palestinian protesters. And in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian protesters managed to scale the barrier fence as they confronted Israeli troops.
The OIC warned the U.S. it would be responsible for the consequences of its decision, without expanding on what those consequences would be.
The draft communique also called Israeli actions and policies "colonial" and "racist".
The OIC also expressed its unequivocal support for the just struggle of the Palestinians and condemned Israeli attacks on peaceful protests.
The strongly worded document also called on the UN Security Council to step in and act against Trump's decision.