Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is “not impressed” by Muslim leaders’ statements on Jerusalem after they urged the world to recognize the city’s eastern sector as the capital of Palestine.
“We are not impressed by all these statements,” Netanyahu says in a speech, saying he believes many countries will follow US President Donald Trump’s lead and recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
His comments come after an emergency summit of the world’s main pan-Islamic body, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on Trump’s move last week.
“The Palestinians would do better by recognizing reality and acting in favor of peace and not extremism,” Netanyahu says.
“They should recognize another fact concerning Jerusalem: It is not only the capital of Israel, but we also maintain respect in Jerusalem for the freedom of worship for all religions, and we are the ones in the Middle East who do this like no one else.”
With the Islamic world mired in division, the summit in Istanbul fell well short of agreeing any concrete sanction against Israel or the United States.
But their final statement declares “East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine” and invites “all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.”
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
