OIC breaks with Saudi line on Iran to focus on Palestine

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has urged member countries to take "appropriate measures" against countries that move their embassies to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The OIC summit in Mecca, in its final statement Saturday, condemned US recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as the "capital" of Israel as well as any position that supports prolonging occupation of Palestinian territories.

Saudi Arabia tried to hijack the summit's agenda for its Iran-bashing campaign, creating sharp differences among OIC member-states on a gamut of issues. 

But the final statement left out the kingdom's political grandstanding, instead stressing support for a future Palestinian state.

It also rejected any deal or plan that prolongs Israeli occupation and undermines the right of return for Palestinian refugees, in an implicit rejection of a US plan touted by President Donald Trump as "the deal of the century".  

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the special privy among the Arab states to Washington's plan which is reportedly riding roughshod on Palestine's core issues, including its statehood and return of refugees. 

A meeting next month in Bahrain aimed at rallying Arab economic support for the US plan is being boycotted by the Palestinians, but Saudi Arabia and the UAE are attending amid growing ties with Israel. 

Saudi Arabia's King Salman used the summit's opening to attack Iran over recent mysterious blasts which he described as "terrorist acts" that targeted oil tankers off the UAE coast of Fujairah.

Iran has called for the clarification of the exact dimensions of the incident and the vigilance of regional states "in the face of any adventurism by foreign elements", and warned against "plots by ill-wishers to disrupt regional security".

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani had his own message for OIC leaders ahead of the summit, urging them to stay focused on the rights of Palestinians.

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Iran's President Rouhani urges Muslim leaders to firmly counter a US-devised plan on the future of Palestine.

In a letter published online Friday, Rouhani said Muslim leaders should not let the importance of Palestinian statehood be "marginalized" in the face of the Trump administration's forthcoming plan.

Rouhani also noted in the letter he was not invited to the Islamic summit, but expressed Iran's readiness to work with all Muslim leaders to confront the White House's "deal of the century".

Iran had a representative present at the 57-nation OIC summit. On Friday, it regretted "Saudi Arabia's abuse of its privilege as the host" of the OIC "to sow division between Islamic and regional countries".

In its final statement, the OIC refused to accept any proposal for peaceful settlement that did not accord with Palestinians' legitimate inalienable rights.

It also underlined the need to protect the right of return for Palestinian refugees under UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

The group further opposed Israel's illegal measures aimed at changing facts in the occupied Palestinian territories and undermining the so-called two-state solution.

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The US officially opens its diplomatic mission in Jerusalem al-Quds amid a deadly Israeli crackdown on Palestinian protests.

Israel's claim to Syria's Golan 

Elsewhere in its statement, the OIC rejected any decision to change the legal and demographic status of Syria's Golan Heights, especially the recent US move to recognize Israeli "sovereignty" over the occupied territory.

The organization called for Israel's complete withdrawal from the Golan and its return to the 1967 borders in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

Back in March, Trump signed a controversial decree recognizing Israeli “sovereignty” over the occupied Golan in a move which is in obvious contravention of international law.

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US President Donald Trump has formally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, a border area the Tel Aviv regime seized from Syria in 1967.

Islamophobia concerns

Additionally, the OIC expressed concerns about growing Islamophobia across the world.

Islamophobia, "as a contemporary form of racism and religious discrimination, continues to grow in many parts of the world, as evident by the increase in incidents of religious intolerance, negative stereotyping, and hatred and violence against Muslims," it said.

The OIC also condemned the inhumane situation of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, demanding a halt to violence against the minority group.

Myanmar's government has the responsibility to protect its citizens, it noted.

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