ISTANBUL, Turkey: Terming the US move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital as the greatest crime and a flagrant violation of International Law, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday noted “Jerusalem is and always will be the capital of Palestine.”
In his address at the Extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in Istanbul convened to discuss the recent decision by the US to shift its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Palestinian president said the United States was giving away Jerusalem as if it were an American City.
“It crosses all the red lines,” Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Mahmoud Abbas said it was unacceptable for the United States to have a role in the Middle East peace process because it was biased in favor of Israel.
The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani while addressing the OIC Summit also lashed out at Israel, saying the Jewish State had planted seeds of tension in the crisis-hit region.
Rouhani urged Muslim nations to work together to defend the rights of Palestinians. He said the Muslim Countries should resolve their internal disputes through dialogue and called for unity against Israel.
Earlier the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had summoned the Extraordinary OIC Summit in his capacity as the Chair of the OIC Summit, also branded Israel an occupying and terrorist state, and said the Country had been almost rewarded by Donald Trump for its terrorist actions.
Erdogan said Trump’s decision on Jerusalem was a threat to all humanity. He called on Countries who follow International Law to recognize Jerusalem as the Occupied Capital of Palestine.
