A SUMMIT of Islamic countries held in Istanbul on Wednesday declared East Jerusalem the capital of the State of Palestine to counter a U.S. decision in favor of Israel.
The summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also invited all countries in the world to “recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital,” said the draft final communique unveiled at the conclusion of the one-day meeting.
The heads of state and government present at the summit rejected as “null and void” and condemned “in the strongest terms” the unilateral decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the communique said.
The leaders described the U.S. move as an attack on the rights of the Palestinian people, a “deliberate undermining” of all peace efforts, “an impetus to extremism and terrorism,” and a threat to international peace and security.
They reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, warning Washington of “all the consequences” of not retracting its decision.
Without stepping back, the U.S. would lose its role as a sponsor of the peace process, cautioned the leaders from the OIC, the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spreading over four continents.
Addressing a press conference at the end of the summit, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the U.S. is no longer an honest broker of peace.
“We cannot accept anymore U.S. as a peace broker, because basic requirements of being a peace broker are to be honest and objective,” he said.(Xinhua)