12-13-2017, 11:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-14-2017, 10:46 AM by John J. Xenakis.)
*** 14-Dec-17 World View -- Organization of Islamic Cooperation throws a temper tantrum over Jerusalem
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Organization of Islamic Cooperation throws a temper tantrum over Jerusalem
****
![[Image: g171213b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g171213b.jpg)
A furious Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas shakes his finger on Wednesday as he makes a point (AFP)
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an "extraordinary"
meeting on Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey, to
protest last week's declaration by president Donald Trump to order the
recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel.
A furious Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas announced that
because the United States is biased in favor of Israel, it will be
shut out as a mediator in the peace process:
<QUOTE>"The decision violated international law.
We shall not accept any role for the United States in the peace
process. They have proven their full bias in favor of Israel.
Jerusalem is and will forever be the capital of the Palestinian
state... There will be no peace, no stability without that.
We will tell the Israelis that we are no longer committed to any
agreement from Oslo until today."<END QUOTE>
Abbas said that he had promised the US not to try to become a full
member of the United Nations, but now said that the Palestinian
Authority intended to return to the United Nations to to gain full
membership:
<QUOTE>"We agreed with America we would not join
international institutions on the condition that American does not
transfer its embassy, does not initiate any action against our
office in Washington, and orders Israel to freeze settlement
building.
If there is no Palestinian state along the June 1967 borders with
Jerusalem as its capital, there will not be peace in the region,
in the territories or in the world. They must
choose."<END QUOTE>
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a "terror state"
and called on world powers to recognize east Jerusalem as the capital
of Palestine:
<QUOTE>"With this decision [by the US to recognize Jerusalem
as the Israeli capital], Israel, which is responsible for
occupation, blockade, unlawful settlements, home demolitions,
evictions, land asset appropriations, disproportionate violence
and murders, was rewarded for all its terrorist actions. ...
I invite all countries supporting international law to recognize
Jerusalem as the occupied capital of Palestine. We cannot be late
any more.
The process to include Palestine in international agreements and
institutions should be sped up."<END QUOTE>
The meeting was attended by some 22 heads of state or government,
including those from Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sudan,
Somalia, Azerbaijan, and Jordan. In addition, some 25 foreign
ministers, including from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and
Kazakhstan, are expected to attend. Saudi Arabia will be represented
by its Islamic affairs minister. Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Deutsche Welle and Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel
****
**** Palestinians disappointed by final communiqué of OIC Summit
****
For several years, Palestinians have been expressing frustration that
the "Palestinian issue" has been largely forgotten by the international
media. Palestinian-Israeli relations used to be one of the top four
or five international stories every day, but in the last 2-3 years
that issue has been displaced by the war in Syria, Brexit, the North
Korean crisis, and other crises.
Palestinian hopes were raised in July, when the thousands of
Palestinians poured into Jerusalem for "days of rage," after Israel
installed metal detectors outside the al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount
compound, in order to deter terrorists. This was the worst violence
in Jerusalem for years, killing several people and injuring hundreds.
The Palestinian cause was once again an international news story, and
they hoped that it would remain so.
The story fizzled out, and when Trump announced that the US would
recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Palestinian leaders
called for more "days of rage," hoping at least to duplicate the
intensity of last July's protests, but instead they fizzled out
after a couple of days.
Led by fiery speeches from Abbas and Erdogan, the hope was that this
summit would reignite international attention. Here are some excerpts
from the resolutions in the final communiqué:
<QUOTE>"1- Reject and condemn in the strongest terms the
unilateral decision by the President of the United States America
recognizing Al-Quds [Jerusalem] as the so-called capital of
Israel, the occupying Power; reject it as null and void legally,
and consider it an attack on the historical, legal, natural and
national rights of the Palestinian people, a deliberate
undermining of all peace efforts, an impetus to extremism and
terrorism, and a threat to international peace and security; ...
3- Reaffirm our attachment to the just and comprehensive -peace
based on the two-state solution with east Jerusalem as the capital
of the State of Palestine. ...
6- Hold the US Administration fully liable for all the
consequences of not retracting from this illegal decision; and
regard it as an announcement of the US Administration's withdrawal
from its role as sponsor of peace and its realization among all
stakeholders and an encouragement of Israel, the occupying Power,
to continue its policy of colonialism, settlement, apartheid and
the ethnic cleansing it has been practicing in the occupied
Palestinian territory in 1967, and in the City of Al-Quds
Al-Sharif at its core; ...
8- Declare East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine
and invite all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and
East Jerusalem as its occupied capital."<END QUOTE>
Many analysts consider the OIC Summit to be a failure for several
reasons.
First, it was missing important leaders, notably from Saudi Arabia
and Egypt. Both of these countries have recently developed close
relations with Israel, and are thought to have given tacit
approval to the Jerusalem declaration before it was made.
Second, the final communiqué was entirely symbolic. It made
the usual boilerplate condemnations of Israel and the United
States, but there were no significant follow-on steps listed.
Third, the recommendation to remove the US as Mideast mediator and
replace it with someone else is completely unrealistic. There was
talk of using the United Nations as a mediator, but that will never
produce anything but rhetoric.
Fourth, al-Jazeera "man in the street" interviews in Jerusalem after
the Summit ended indicated that Palestinians were completely
unimpressed with the Summit, because it didn't accomplish anything.
OIC Final Communiqué (PDF) and AP and Al-Jazeera
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, OIC,
Israel, Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas,
Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
al-Aqsa Mosque, Temple Mount
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Organization of Islamic Cooperation throws a temper tantrum over Jerusalem
- Palestinians disappointed by final communiqué of OIC Summit
****
**** Organization of Islamic Cooperation throws a temper tantrum over Jerusalem
****
A furious Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas shakes his finger on Wednesday as he makes a point (AFP)
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an "extraordinary"
meeting on Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey, to
protest last week's declaration by president Donald Trump to order the
recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel.
A furious Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas announced that
because the United States is biased in favor of Israel, it will be
shut out as a mediator in the peace process:
<QUOTE>"The decision violated international law.
We shall not accept any role for the United States in the peace
process. They have proven their full bias in favor of Israel.
Jerusalem is and will forever be the capital of the Palestinian
state... There will be no peace, no stability without that.
We will tell the Israelis that we are no longer committed to any
agreement from Oslo until today."<END QUOTE>
Abbas said that he had promised the US not to try to become a full
member of the United Nations, but now said that the Palestinian
Authority intended to return to the United Nations to to gain full
membership:
<QUOTE>"We agreed with America we would not join
international institutions on the condition that American does not
transfer its embassy, does not initiate any action against our
office in Washington, and orders Israel to freeze settlement
building.
If there is no Palestinian state along the June 1967 borders with
Jerusalem as its capital, there will not be peace in the region,
in the territories or in the world. They must
choose."<END QUOTE>
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a "terror state"
and called on world powers to recognize east Jerusalem as the capital
of Palestine:
<QUOTE>"With this decision [by the US to recognize Jerusalem
as the Israeli capital], Israel, which is responsible for
occupation, blockade, unlawful settlements, home demolitions,
evictions, land asset appropriations, disproportionate violence
and murders, was rewarded for all its terrorist actions. ...
I invite all countries supporting international law to recognize
Jerusalem as the occupied capital of Palestine. We cannot be late
any more.
The process to include Palestine in international agreements and
institutions should be sped up."<END QUOTE>
The meeting was attended by some 22 heads of state or government,
including those from Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sudan,
Somalia, Azerbaijan, and Jordan. In addition, some 25 foreign
ministers, including from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and
Kazakhstan, are expected to attend. Saudi Arabia will be represented
by its Islamic affairs minister. Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Deutsche Welle and Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel
****
**** Palestinians disappointed by final communiqué of OIC Summit
****
For several years, Palestinians have been expressing frustration that
the "Palestinian issue" has been largely forgotten by the international
media. Palestinian-Israeli relations used to be one of the top four
or five international stories every day, but in the last 2-3 years
that issue has been displaced by the war in Syria, Brexit, the North
Korean crisis, and other crises.
Palestinian hopes were raised in July, when the thousands of
Palestinians poured into Jerusalem for "days of rage," after Israel
installed metal detectors outside the al-Aqsa Mosque / Temple Mount
compound, in order to deter terrorists. This was the worst violence
in Jerusalem for years, killing several people and injuring hundreds.
The Palestinian cause was once again an international news story, and
they hoped that it would remain so.
The story fizzled out, and when Trump announced that the US would
recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Palestinian leaders
called for more "days of rage," hoping at least to duplicate the
intensity of last July's protests, but instead they fizzled out
after a couple of days.
Led by fiery speeches from Abbas and Erdogan, the hope was that this
summit would reignite international attention. Here are some excerpts
from the resolutions in the final communiqué:
<QUOTE>"1- Reject and condemn in the strongest terms the
unilateral decision by the President of the United States America
recognizing Al-Quds [Jerusalem] as the so-called capital of
Israel, the occupying Power; reject it as null and void legally,
and consider it an attack on the historical, legal, natural and
national rights of the Palestinian people, a deliberate
undermining of all peace efforts, an impetus to extremism and
terrorism, and a threat to international peace and security; ...
3- Reaffirm our attachment to the just and comprehensive -peace
based on the two-state solution with east Jerusalem as the capital
of the State of Palestine. ...
6- Hold the US Administration fully liable for all the
consequences of not retracting from this illegal decision; and
regard it as an announcement of the US Administration's withdrawal
from its role as sponsor of peace and its realization among all
stakeholders and an encouragement of Israel, the occupying Power,
to continue its policy of colonialism, settlement, apartheid and
the ethnic cleansing it has been practicing in the occupied
Palestinian territory in 1967, and in the City of Al-Quds
Al-Sharif at its core; ...
8- Declare East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine
and invite all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and
East Jerusalem as its occupied capital."<END QUOTE>
Many analysts consider the OIC Summit to be a failure for several
reasons.
First, it was missing important leaders, notably from Saudi Arabia
and Egypt. Both of these countries have recently developed close
relations with Israel, and are thought to have given tacit
approval to the Jerusalem declaration before it was made.
Second, the final communiqué was entirely symbolic. It made
the usual boilerplate condemnations of Israel and the United
States, but there were no significant follow-on steps listed.
Third, the recommendation to remove the US as Mideast mediator and
replace it with someone else is completely unrealistic. There was
talk of using the United Nations as a mediator, but that will never
produce anything but rhetoric.
Fourth, al-Jazeera "man in the street" interviews in Jerusalem after
the Summit ended indicated that Palestinians were completely
unimpressed with the Summit, because it didn't accomplish anything.
OIC Final Communiqué (PDF) and AP and Al-Jazeera
Related Articles
- Protests fizzle 3 days after Trump's Jerusalem announcement was universally condemned (10-Dec-2017)
- Israel and Saudi Arabia prepare for war with Hezbollah, as Syria war winds down (02-Nov-2017)
- Palestinian 'day of rage' in Jerusalem results in six deaths, hundreds injured (22-Jul-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, OIC,
Israel, Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas,
Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
al-Aqsa Mosque, Temple Mount
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
