OIC declares Trump's Jerusalem move as withdrawal from peace process

CAIRO – 13 December 2017: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit Wednesday issued a draft declaration that Washington's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a sign of U.S. withdrawal from its role as a sponsor of the Middle East peace process.

The draft statement declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, and invited all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.

The whole Arab and Muslim nations "rejected and condemned" President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and stated that it means that the U.S. can no longer act as an "unbiased" sponsor in the Middle East peace talks.

The whole Arab and Muslim nations support all legal and peaceful steps that the State of Palestine seeks to take at the national and international levels in order to consolidate its sovereignty over Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territory in general.

Trump’s move is described as the “deliberate undermining of all peace efforts, an impetus (for) extremism and terrorism, and a threat to international peace and security," the draft reads.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stated on Wednesday during his speech at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit that Egypt condemns Trump’s unilateral decision because it violates international legitimacy.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid published on his Twitter account excerpts from Shoukry’s speech saying: "Egypt deplores the unilateral American decision that violates international legitimacy. The stability of the region and the world cannot bear any uncalculated action against Jerusalem and it will not be achieved In light of indifference towards the feelings of millions of Arabs, Muslims and Christians."

The summit, called initially by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, brings together high-level delegations headed by Muslim leaders to discuss the implications of last Wednesday’s decision by U.S. President Trump to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and thus declare it as the capital of Israel.

International and regional condemnations poured down on the U.S. decision and several protests broke out at various U.S. embassies around the globe.