MAKKAH, Saudi Arabia – A Saudi-hosted Islamic summit on Saturday threw its support behind Palestinians ahead of a US-led peace plan suspected to be skewed in favour of Israel, as regional allies rallied around Saudi Arabia.
Gulf and Arab leaders at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) talks, the third and final Iran-focused summit in the holy city of Mecca, denounced the controversial US move to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
The summit, marked by the notable absence of Iran and Turkey’s leaders, also urged OIC members to “boycott” countries that have opened diplomatic missions in the city.
Trump broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.
The statement comes as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner prepares to roll out economic aspects of his long-awaited Middle East peace plan at a conference in Bahrain later this month.
The plan, dubbed by Trump as the “deal of the century”, has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say Trump’s policies have shown him to be blatantly biased in favour of Israel.
