Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 07/12/2017
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed deep regret over the US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his orders to move his country’s embassy to the city, which constitutes a provocation of Muslims’ sentiments. The OIC rejected the decision as a violation of the political, legal and historical status of the city of Jerusalem, a clear defiance of international laws and resolutions, a departure from the international consensus on the status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the requirements of peace in general, thus undermining the US’s role as a sponsor of the peace process.
The OIC emphasized the need for urgent action by convening an extraordinary summit of the leaders of the OIC Member States in Istanbul on 12 and 13 December 2017 to discuss the repercussions of the US decision and formulate a unified Islamic position on this serious escalation.
The OIC also insisted that the decision does not only threaten the Arab and Islamic identity of Al-Quds, but also the Christian identity of the city, stressing Muslims’ eternal attachment to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the centrality of the cause of Al-Quds to the Islamic Ummah. It stressed commitment to working with the international community and to supporting the Arab and international efforts to achieve peace based on the two-state solution, the establishment of the State of Palestine with Al-Quds as its capital and the end of the Israeli occupation.
The OIC reaffirmed its firm stance towards Al-Quds, considered as an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967. It also stressed that this illegal decision will not give legitimacy to the Israeli occupation and will not change the reality of the city nor its history and identity.
Related: Alquds
