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News > World

Muslim Nations Converge, Call Trump's Jerusalem Decision 'Null and Void'

  • Protesters shout,

    Protesters shout, "Free Palestine", during a march demanding an end to the escalating Israeli-Palestinian hostilities in that region, in midtown Manhattan, New York July 9, 2014. | Photo: Reuters

Published 13 December 2017
Opinion

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas said since Washington was no longer "fit" to be part of the peace process, the UN should intervene in the Middle East process.

In the wake of Trump terming Jerusalem as Israel's capital, several world leaders, from Islamic nations, converged in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, OIC summit, held in Turkey to discuss and unify their stance against Trump's anti-Palestine stance. 

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At the 57-member summit, Muslim nations "rejected and condemned" Trump's decision making it "null and void legally." In its draft communique, the bloc said the U.S. declaration was an "announcement of the U.S. administration's withdrawal from its role as sponsor of peace" but softened the blow in the final version, urging the Trump administration to rescind the "unlawful decision that might trigger chaos in the region."

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, declared that Palestine will not involve the U.S. "from now on" in the peace process with Israel. He called Trump's decision a "provocation" to divide the regional communities and urged the Arab, Muslim and Christian communities in the city to galvanize against the U.S. decision. He said Trump's statement was a "crime" that would disrupt world peace. 

Abbas said since Washington was no longer "fit" to be part of the peace process, and that the UN should intervene in the Middle East process. He also said that it was about time for countries which recognize the two-state solution to consider Palestine as a separate state. 

Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, who addressed a pre-summit meeting accused that the U.S. was trying to "legitimize Israel's attempt to occupy Jerusalem," adding, the OIC countries "are here to say 'stop' to tyranny." 

Turkish President, Erdogan, too, strongly condemned the U.S. president's decision during the summit. Calling the decision a "red line" for the Muslims and tagging Israel as a "terror state," he affirmed East Jerusalem is the capital of the future Palestinian state, and urged that the  "process to include Palestine in international agreements and institutions should be sped up."

Referring to the geopolitics in the region, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also commented that the U.S. could "dare" to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital because some countries wanted stronger ties with Israel, alluding to Saudi Arabia. 

But away from the summit, King Salman of Saudi Arabia said, "The kingdom has called for a political solution to resolve regional crises, foremost of which is the Palestinian issue and the restoration of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights, including the right to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital," the Guardian reported.

Following Abbas' statement, the White House also issued a statement, saying such rhetoric "has prevented peace for years" and that the U.S. President Donald Trump "remains as committed to peace as ever," adding, the U.S. administration is "hard at work putting together our plan, which will benefit the Israeli and Palestinian peoples." 

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