OIC Secretary General Says East Jerusalem Integral Part of Palestine's Territory
The entire territory of East Jerusalem is an integral part of Palestine' state, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef Bin Ahmad Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Othaimeen said in a statement on Wednesday, commenting on US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan that would give Palestine just a handful of neighborhoods in the city
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) The entire territory of East Jerusalem is an integral part of Palestine' state, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef Bin Ahmad Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Othaimeen said in a statement on Wednesday, commenting on US President Donald Trump's middle East peace plan that would give Palestine just a handful of neighborhoods in the city.
According to the secretary general, the OIC is studying the terms of Trump's so-called deal of the century, but stressed that any lasting solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict must be made in line with international law, the relevant UN institutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
"The holy city of Jerusalem, in accordance with international law, is an integral part of Palestine's territory that was occupied [by Israeli] in 1967," Al-Othaimeen's statement read.
On Tuesday, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a Middle East peace plan in Washington. The deal establishes a two-state solution to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict, but it would also recognize Israeli settlements established in the West Bank.
According to the deal, the Palestinian state would not receive the whole of East Jerusalem. Instead, Palestine would receive a handful of neighborhoods that would be outside of a security barrier constructed by Israel, that will in fact serve as a border between Israeli and Palestinian territory.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas slammed the peace plan, saying that Jerusalem and Palestinians' rights were not for sale. The head of Hamas's political bureau Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement after the deal's publication that Palestine would unequivocally reject Trump's peace plan.
On the request of the Palestinian government, the Arab League will hold an extraordinary meeting on Saturday to discuss the terms of the Middle East peace plan.
The OIC was established in 1969 after the arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The organization consists of 57 Muslim states across four continents.