Islamic Cooperation calls for UN to protect Jerusalem's status and for Israel to 'stop its occupation'

ISTANBUL

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called for the United Nations to "protect the status" of Jerusalem and called on Israel to “stop its occupation” of the city in a summit in Istanbul on Dec. 13, Turkish broadcaster CNN TÜRK reported.

OIC has agreed to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine in an extraordinary summit on the same day.

The ruling, which was handed down on Dec. 13, counters U.S. President Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital and favors the pre-1967 borders preferred by the two-state solution.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had called on the international community to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.

“I invite countries that claim international law and equity to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state under occupation,” Erdoğan said, speaking at the OIC summit in Istanbul.

“It is a must for countries that have not yet recognized the Palestinian state to take this important step, to maintain a balance that will ensure good sense and justice in the region,” he added.