Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged leaders of Muslim nations to recognise Jerusalem as the “occupied capital of the Palestinian state”.
Addressing a summit of the Organisation for Islamic Co-operation, he said the US decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital was “null and void”.
Mr Erdogan also again accused Israel of being a “state of terror”.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the US had “disqualified itself from playing a role in the peace process”.
“We shall not accept any role for the United States in the peace process. They have proven their full bias in favour of Israel,” he told the summit.
The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians.
The city is home to key religious sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, especially in East Jerusalem.
Israel occupied the sector, previously occupied by Jordan, in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the entire city as its indivisible capital.
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries currently maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. However, President Donald Trump has announced that the US will eventually move its embassy.
