The declaration of more than 50 Muslim countries at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) extraordinary meeting in Istanbul that occupied East Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Palestine, last week, is important but the work should not stop there.
The meeting also encouraged other countries in the world to follow suit.
The Palestinians should now turn to their European sponsors for help. European states in the past were relegated by Washington to the role of paymaster, sending hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to support the Palestinian self-rule government and help manage the long-running conflict.
Israeli destruction of schools or hospitals, built by European aid money, has enraged European leaders who often take a more critical stance against Israel at the United Nations. If push comes to shove, European states could unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state that could be echoed by other countries around the world.
Muslim leaders said they considered Washington’s decision to recognise occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as a sign of American withdrawal from its role as a sponsor of Middle East peace.
Using unusually strong language, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that there could be “no peace or stability” in the Middle East until occupied Jerusalem is recognised as the capital of a Palestinian state. The OIC went on to reject United States President Donald Trump’s move as “null and void”. Several countries at the summit also questioned the US role vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and the pressing need for other powers to be identified to replace the US in that role. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have already slammed the shift in US policy on occupied Jerusalem and made their resentment and condemnation public on several instances.
All eyes are now on the response of the Palestinian leadership. Whether the Palestinians will formally abandon the two-state solution, remains unclear. But already, it has started discussing serious alternative paths, including bringing a case against Israel at the International Criminal Court and intensifying its involvement in the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) grass roots movement targeting entities that do business with Israeli companies in Occupied Territories.
Already the Palestinians have the undeniable moral high ground and support from a majority of countries around the world. All they have to do now is turn that momentum in their favour and now they must focus — without distractions of useless peace talks — to achieve this at all costs.
