A Saudi-hosted Islamic summit yesterday threw its support behind Palestinians ahead of a US-led peace plan suspected to be skewed in favor of Israel, as Muslim nations rallied around Saudi Arabia over tensions with Iran.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) talks, the third and final Iran-focused summit in the holy city of Mecca this week, denounced the controversial US move to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
The summit of the 57-member state body, marked by the notable absence of Iran and Turkey’s leaders, also called for a “boycott” of countries that have opened diplomatic missions in the city.
Trump broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.
The OIC’s statement comes as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner prepares to roll out economic aspects of his long-awaited Middle East peace plan at a conference in Bahrain later this month.
The plan, dubbed by Trump as the “deal of the century,” has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say Trump’s policies have shown him to be blatantly biased in favor of Israel.
The Palestinians see the eastern part of the disputed city as the capital of their future state.
Kushner, who was in Jerusalem on Friday on the latest leg of a regional tour to sell the plan, had looked to an alliance with Saudi Arabia against Iran as a way to gain Arab support.
However, Saudi Arabian King Salman told leaders of the OIC countries gathered at the summit: “The Palestinian cause is the cornerstone of the works of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and is the focus of our attention until the brotherly Palestinian people get all their legitimate rights.
“We reaffirm our unequivocal rejection of any measures that would prejudice the historical and legal status of Quds [Jerusalem].”
The OIC also backed Saudi Arabia over escalating tensions with Iran, as King Salman warned that “terrorist” attacks in the Gulf region could imperil global energy supplies.
The remark came after sabotage attacks damaged four vessels, two of them Saudi oil tankers, off the United Arab Emirates and twin Yemeni rebel drone attacks shut down a key Saudi Arabian oil pipeline.
“We confirm that terrorist actions not only target the kingdom and the Gulf region, but also target the safety of navigation and world oil supplies,” the king said.
Tehran has strongly denied involvement in any of the incidents.
In a tweet just before the start of the summit, the king vowed to confront “aggressive threats and subversive activities.”
“Undermining the security of the kingdom effectively undermines the security of the Arab and Islamic world,” said OIC Secretary-General Yousef bin Ahmed al-Othaimeen, voicing solidarity that was shared by other members.
In two previous back-to-back summits on Friday, Gulf and Arab allies similarly threw their support behind Saudi Arabia, which drew accusations from Iran of “sowing division.”
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