Muslim countries’ FMs tilt at plan to move US embassy

Organization of Islamic Cooperation calls on governments to not encourage ‘occupation’ of East Jerusalem by moving missions there

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gestures while addressing the Extraordinary Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the Rohingya situation in Myanmar, Kuala Lumpur, on January 19, 2017. (AFP/MANAN VATSYAYANA)
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gestures while addressing the Extraordinary Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the Rohingya situation in Myanmar, Kuala Lumpur, on January 19, 2017. (AFP/MANAN VATSYAYANA)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Thursday indirectly condemned plans by US President-elect Donald Trump to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

A statement issued after a meeting in Kuala Lumpur didn’t mention the United States or Trump by name, but said the OIC rejected any actions that could undermine the ability of Palestinians to claim part of Jerusalem in a future state.

It called on governments to desist from any activities that might encourage Israel to “pursue its illegal occupation and annexation of ….east Jerusalem, including any such encouragement through the transfer of their diplomatic missions to the city.”

The statement invited its 57 member states “to take the necessary steps and measures” in response to any such hostile position, but didn’t elaborate.

Trump has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want East Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of a future state.

The move would also distance the US from much of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and extended its sovereignty to it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.

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