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Arab MK urges OIC to expel US envoys over Jerusalem

December 13, 2017 at 12:00 pm

The extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Istanbul, Turkey on 13 December 2017 [Kayhan Özer/Anadolu Agency]

An Israeli Arab lawmaker has called on Muslim leaders meeting in Istanbul to expel US ambassadors in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Israeli Arab lawmaker, Talab Abu Arar [Taleb Abu Arar/Faceebook]

Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) opened an extraordinary summit in Istanbul today to discuss the repercussions of last week’s US recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.

“We know the OIC will reject this decision,” Talab Abu Arar, a member of the Knesset, told the Anadolu Agency today.

Condemning and rejecting the US recognition would be “meaningless”, he stressed.

Arab and Islamic leaders must pressure the US to revoke its decision by expelling US ambassadors

he said.

“Jerusalem will be the capital of a Palestinian state. There is no place for the US embassy in Jerusalem,” Abu Arar said, adding that such a move would destabilise the Middle East.

“Such attempts by the US will set the entire region on fire and will result in events that no one will be pleased with,” he warned.

The Arab reaction to the decision has been “weak” and “meaningless”, he said, adding: “I want to say that we do not trust the Arab world, which has given weak and meaningless reactions.”

Read: Why is Trump moving on Jerusalem now?