Istanbul: The world’s largest bloc of Muslim countries declared East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state at a meeting convened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, solidifying opposition to President Donald Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.
The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said in a joint statement on Wednesday that it considered Trump’s declaration “null and void legally” and an attack on the rights of the Palestinian people.
The declaration was spearheaded by Erdogan, who hosted the summit of Muslim countries in Istanbul, said the US move meant Washington had forfeited its role as broker in efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“From now on, it is out of the question for a biased United States to be a mediator between Israel and Palestine, that period is over,” Erdogan said at the end of the meeting.
Read the full article by Ali Kucukgocmen at the Sydney Morning Herald.