Turkey hosted an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation with the aim of formulating a common Islamic position on thisthe serious escalation resulting from the US decision on Jerusalem. This comes in light of continued condemnation, within the Arab and Muslim worlds, of US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite several UN resolutions establishing that Israel is an occupying force of the Palestinian territories. On Monday, Al-Sisi received Monday his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas.President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and affirmed Egypt's stance on preserving the legal and historical status of Jerusalem, according to UN resolutions. Al-Sisi received Monday his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. Egypt will continue to support the Palestinian people's right to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, a presidential statement read. For his part, Abbas said he was surprised by US President Donald Trump's decision despite, especially that the Palestinian Authority has been flexible towards reaching a two-state solution according to 1967 borders. The two leaders discussed the "serious repercussions" of the US decision would have on the Middle East peace process, stressing upon the importance of pursuing Palestinian reconciliation, according to the statement. Egypt had brokered a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, signed in October. The two leaders discussed the "serious repercussions" of the US decision would have on the Middle East peace process, stressing upon the importance of pursuing Palestinian reconciliation, according to the statement. Egypt had brokered a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, signed in October. In line with Abbas' statement that Palestinians no longer consider the US a mediator in the peace process, the Arab Parliament demanded the UN lead the negotiations, in a concluding statement issued after an urgent meeting on Monday. Moreover, the Moroccan Parliament expressed full solidarity with Palestine in a joint plenary session Monday. "Practically, we are before an illegitimate decision, that does not have any legal or ethical grounds," Parliament Speaker Al-Habib Al-Malki stated. Al-Malki further announced that a Thursday summit will be held for Arab parliamentary heads. Meanwhile, Iran renewed its condemnation of the Jerusalem decision as hundreds of students have demonstrated in Tehran's Palestine Square, Press TV reported Monday. Moreover, Iran's Defence Minister Amir Hatami said the decision "will hasten the country [Israel]'s destruction," according to Reuters. On the other hand, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, tweeted in Hebrew: "Jerusalem is Israel's capital and nobody can deny it!" as he urged the EU to follow in the footsteps of Trump. However, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said in a press conference that it was made clear by all 28 foreign ministers that such a move will not be taken by the EU, saying, "the only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on two states with Jerusalem as the capital of both." "The EU will continue to respect the international consensus on Jerusalem until the final status of the Holy City is resolved through direct negotiations between the parties," Mogherini stated. Over the past week, regional and international solidarity with Palestinians—who were violently oppressed by Israeli forces as they demonstrated against the decision in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Gaza, and the West Bank, among other cities—was expressed through rallies in other parts of the world. New York's Times Square witnessed protests on Friday. Since then, protests also erupted around US embassies and consulates in Canada, the UK, Lebanon, and Indonesia, among other countries. Also, there was condemnation by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, which expressed rejection of Trump's announcement last week. On a further note, Israel launched several air strikes on Gaza, reportedly in response to rockets fired from the strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that four people were killed on Saturday and more than 1,000 were injured, including children.
