There has been widespread condemnation around the world, including from Qatar, regarding US President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

However now, a summit of Islamic nations declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State yesterday, in a counter-move to the US president’s decision.

It is understood that more than two dozen leaders attended the summit in Istanbul and, in all, 56 member nations of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) were represented.

Attendees included Qatar’s Emir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, reported Gulf Times.

The OIC issued a statement saying it would “invite all countries to recognise the state of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.”

Amid a day of fiery rhetoric, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he will seek a UN General Assembly vote to nullify Israel’s UN membership and demand full Palestinian membership in the UN Security Council.

“We’ll go to the UN General Assembly regarding Israel’s membership because its membership is in violation of all international resolutions and we’ll ask the Security Council for full membership in the General Assembly,” Abbas said.

Abbas and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan both said the US could no longer be regarded as a mediator. The Palestinian leader has requested UN sponsorship of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“These unilateral steps by President Trump will not give any legitimacy to Israel in Jerusalem. It’s a Palestinian Arab Muslim Christian city, the eternal capital of the state of Palestine,” Abbas said.

“There can be no Palestinian state without the city of Jerusalem as its capital, and there’ll be no peace in the region and in the world without it,” added the leader, who has been leading the charge against Trump’s announcement.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah stressed on the importance of having everyone work on protecting the identity of Jerusalem and the sacredness of Al Aqsa Mosque.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II called on working together to protect Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and to confront attempts to impose a new reality.

Iranian President Rouhani said all Muslim nations should work together to defend the rights of Palestinians.

In Saudi Arabia, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who did not attend the OIC meeting, described Trump’s decision as a ‘flagrant bias against Palestinian people’s historical and invariable rights’ in Jerusalem.