Turkish Pesident Erdoğan has invited leaders of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states to convene for an extraordinary leaders summit in Istanbul on Wednesday, Dec. 13 over the issue of Jerusalem, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said Wednesday.
Speaking at a news conference in Ankara, Kalın said that Erdoğan has called on OIC member states to come together to display joint action and coordination among Muslim countries.
"Jerusalem is our honor, our common cause, and as Mr. President said yesterday, it is our red line," Kalın told reporters, noting that Erdoğan has discussed the matter with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and leaders of other Muslim countries, including Malaysia, Tunisia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia.
The U.S. should correct its "grave mistake" on Jerusalem's status, Ibrahim Kalin told a press conference in the capital Ankara.
Trump is widely expected to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday and begin preparations to move the U.S. Embassy to the city.
The decision would place the U.S. at odds with the rest of the world -- excluding Israel -- reverse decades of American policy, and block any effort to resume long-stalled peace talks between Israel and Palestinians, according to most analysts.
Jerusalem remains at the core of the perennial Israel-Palestine conflict, as Palestinians want Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
ERDOĞAN PHONES LEADERS OVER U.S. MOVE ON JERUSALEM
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday made phone calls to leaders of Iran, Tunisia and Malaysia over an expected U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
According to a presidential source, Erdoğan told Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi, and Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, that the move would "disrupt peace process in the Middle East".
Trump is expected to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday and begin preparations to move the U.S. Embassy to the city, three senior administration officials confirmed to Anadolu Agency, late Tuesday.
Palestinians, Arab and Muslim countries warn that a unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would "unleash widespread public anger" and deal a death knee to the peace process.
During his election campaign last year, Trump repeatedly promised to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem remains at the core of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- currently occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
