OIC/EX-CFM/2017/PAL/RES.

The extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Member States in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held on 24 Rabi' Awwal 1439 AH - 13 December 2017 CE in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey;

Proceeding from the principles and objectives of the OIC Charter;

Pursuant to the resolutions of previous Islamic Summits and recalling the CFM and Al-Quds Committee resolutions on Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and the Cause of Palestine that assert the centrality of the issue of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif as the core of the Cause of Palestine to the Muslim Ummah and its historical, religious and moral connection thereto, and that the only means to comprehensive and just peace would be by returning the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif to the Palestinian sovereignty as the capital of the State of Palestine;

Reaffirming all the relevant resolutions adopted by the regular and extraordinary Islamic Summits, particularly at the Third Islamic Summit in Makkah in 1981 and the Ninth Islamic Summit in Doha in 2000 on practical measures against the States that affect the historical, legal and religious status of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif or contribute to the consecration of the Israeli occupation and colonization thereof;

Recalling the relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly resolutions No. 242 (1967); 252 (1968); 338 (1973); 465, 476, and 478 (1980); 1073 (1996); and 2334 (2016), all UN General Assembly resolutions, particularly those of the Tenth Emergency Extraordinary Session of the UN General Assembly on illegal Israeli practices in occupied East Jerusalem and the other occupied Palestinian territory, the Legal Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004, and the conferences of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Times of War of 1949 stipulating that all the provisions of the Convention apply to the Palestinian people in the occupied Arab territories, including the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif;

Expressing its rejection and condemnation of any attempts, statements or positions by any party aimed at altering the historical, legal and religious status of the occupied City of Al-Quds, including attempt to move the diplomatic missions of some States thereto as being a flagrant violation of international instruments that would render any efforts to revive the peace process daunting and contribute to further tensions and confusion of security and stability in the region, as well as provocation and disregard for the feelings of the Arab and Muslim Ummah;

Reaffirming its unwavering commitment to spare no effort to safeguard and protect the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, the first of the two qiblas, the third holy mosque, where Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, started his Mi'raj (Ascension to Heaven), and the birthplace of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, and its absolute support for the just Palestinian Cause and its full solidarity with the Palestinian people at all levels until they achieve their national independence and establish their independent state with Al-Quds as its capital;

Recognizing the sacredness of the City of Al Quds Ash Sharif to the three monotheistic religions;

Stressing determination to resist in attempt to change the identity or falsify the history of the city of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, the capital of the State of Palestine and stressing that the legal and historic status of the Holy City is deep-rooted and greater than any procedure or decision to change its Arab, Islamic and Christian identity witnessed in every part of its territory, sanctuaries, mosques, churches and its steadfast people;

Having considered the serious repercussion of the US Administration’s recent decision to recognize Al-Quds Ash-Sharif as the so-called capital of Israel and its plan to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied City of Al-Quds,

1- Rejects US Administration’s Declaration of 6 December 2017, recognizing occupied Al Quds as the so called capital of Israel, the occupying power, and the decision to relocate its Embassy to Al Quds and demands them to reverse this decision and abide by the UN Resolutions and international law.

2- Condemns, in this regard, the declaration of the President of the United States of America to recognize Al-Quds as the capital of Israel, the occupying Power, and the US intention to move its embassy to Al-Quds; and considers this a blatant attack on the historical, legal and natural rights of the Palestinian people, the pursuit of their legitimate aspirations for freedom and independence, the Muslim Ummah, and the rights of Christians and Muslims throughout the world, that deliberately undermines the efforts to achieve peace, promotes extremism and consecrates continuing racist and colonial actions of the Israeli occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory, which threatens international peace and security;

3- Condemns the full and unjustified bias of the US Congress in favor of the colonialist and racist policies and practices of Israel, the occupying Power, and the crimes it commits, including the crime of ethnic cleansing, that encourages it to continue these crimes, deny the conventions signed, and challenge international legitimacy; condemns its resolutions against the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, its sole and legitimate representative; and calls for addressing this blind bias, including boycotting members of Congress who adopt this trend;

4- Affirms the sovereignty of the State of Palestine over all Palestinian land occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and its borders with neighboring countries; and stresses the need to confront any steps that might prejudice the historical, legal or religious status of the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif;

5- Considers that this dangerous declaration, which aims to change the legal status of the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, is null and void, has no legal value and lacks any legitimacy, as being a serious violation of the international law, the signed agreements and the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy and the United Nations, particularly the UN Security Council resolutions No. 252 (1968); 267 (1969); 465, 476, and 478 (1980); and 2334 (2016), and defiance of the international will and unanimity.

6- Holds the US Administration fully liable for all the consequences of not retreating from this illegal declaration; and regards it as a declaration of the US Administration's withdrawal from the role it played in the past decades as sponsor of peace and as a reward to Israel, the occupying Power, for denying agreements and defying international legitimacy as well as an encouragement to continue its policy of colonialism, settlement, apartheid and the ethnic cleansing practiced in the occupied Palestinian territory;

7- Requests Member States, the OIC General Secretariat and then OIC subsidiary, specialized and affiliated institutions to take the necessary measures to ensure full compliance with the implementation of all the OIC resolutions on the Palestinian Cause and facing this declaration, including the following:

A- To move in all relevant international forums to address, including legally, this declaration and to affirm the rejection thereof by Member States,

B- To procure a resolution by the United Nations Security Council, which affirms the legal status of the City of Al-Quds, and sets a credible course consistent with international law and international consensus for realizing peace,

C- To support all the legal and peaceful steps that the State of Palestine seeks to undertake at the national and international levels to consolidate its sovereignty over Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and the occupied Palestinian territory in general and to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes, including its grave violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention, specifically the crime of colonizing the Palestinian land and the crime of racism,

D- To stand for the Cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Ash-Sharif as the main issue in international forums, including Member States' vote in favor of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the UNESCO and other international organizations and expressing their rejection of any action contrary to this principled position, and any member state taking a different decision shall be considered to have left Islamic unanimity and should therefore be held responsible.

E- To support the Palestinian efforts to join international institutions and treaties, including full membership of the United Nations,

F- To apply the political and economic restrictions to countries, officials, parliaments, companies or individuals who recognize the annexation of Al-Quds by Israel, the occupying Power, or deal with any measures related to the consecration of Israeli colonization of the occupied Palestinian territory,

G- To ensure that the credentials of Israel, the occupying Power, to the international organizations do not include any reference to the City of Al-Quds, and object to any international organization that accepts such credentials,

H- To scrutinize the legality of the membership of Israel, the occupying Power, in the United Nations and other international organizations despite its pursuit of colonial racist policies and its contravention of the UN Charter and resolutions of international legitimacy and international law,

I- To call on Member States and other world countries that have not recognized the State of Palestine to do so forthwith as an expression of their sincere commitment to peace based on the two-state solution and their respect for international law and legality,

J- To call upon the international actors to engage in sponsoring a multilateral political course with a view to launching a credible peace process under international sponsorship aimed at achieving peace based on the two-state solution and ending the Israeli colonial occupation that began in 1967 as stipulated in the rules of international law and UN resolutions as well as the terms of reference of the peace process, the Arab peace initiative of 2002, and the principle of land for peace, which would promote calm and revive hope in reaching a peaceful solution that would allow the Palestinian people to live in freedom and dignity in their Palestinian State with Al-Quds Ash-Sharif as its capital,

K- To Call the OIC Executive Committee and its Bureau and Ministerial Contact Group on Al-Quds for an immediate meeting and develop a plan of action that takes into account the above mentioned points to protect Al-Quds and to communicate with the governments of the world countries and international organizations to inform them of the seriousness of this step and the actions of Muslim countries in this regard;

8- Welcomes the widespread international condemnation and denunciation of the US Administration's decision to recognize Al-Quds as the capital of Israel, the occupying Power, and its intention to move its embassy to it; and calls on all world countries to express their rejection of this declaration by emphasizing their respect for and implementation of the relevant UN resolutions, including resolution No. 2334 (2016), and further requests all countries with embassies in Tel Aviv not to follow the United States’ step which is to relocate its embassy to Al-Quds

9- Reaffirms that all legislative and administrative measures taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws and administrative procedures on the City of Al-Quds are illegal and therefore void in accordance with the UN resolutions; and calls upon all States, institutions, organizations and companies to avoid liability by not recognizing or engaging in any form with these measures;

10- Demands all States not to recognize any changes in the borders of 4 July 1967, including in connection with Al-Quds; calls upon them to distinguish, in their dealings, between Israel and the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including Al-Quds, and not to encourage Israel, the occupying Power, in its imperialist and racist designs to take control of and Judaize the City of Al-Quds and obliterate its Palestinian, Islamic and Christian identity; and calls upon the international community to avoid any action or statement that could consecrate these irresponsible plans and trends, and to counter these alarming violations, which seriously threaten peace and security both in the region and in the world;

11- Calls on the United States of America to cancel its decision and to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.

12- Expresses its unequivocal support for the just Palestinian Cause and its condemnation of the Israeli attacks on the peaceful protests of the Palestinian people against the illegal declaration of the US Administration and its full solidarity with the Palestinian people in these difficult circumstances, which require Member States and all peace-loving forces to take urgent action to avoid taking any similar steps or respond to similar actions towards the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, which is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory in 1967;

13- Commends the collective protest of the peoples in the capitals of the Muslim countries and elsewhere, who expressed their rejection of the declaration of the US Administration, and their full solidarity with the Palestinian people; and reiterates in this regard the importance of visiting the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif to emphasize its Islamic and civilizational status;

14- Calls for the implementation of all its previous resolutions on funding and supporting the steadfastness of the people in the City of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and the protests, institutions and residents of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif in coordination with the State of Palestine;

15- Expresses deep appreciation and gratitude to all Member States for their generous support for the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine, calls upon the Member States and relevant OIC bodies, particularly Bayt Mal Al- Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, the executive arm of Al-Quds Committee chaired by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, to continue to provide all forms of socio-economic, technical and material support and assistance to the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine including the promotion and facilitation of trade with Palestine, developing capacity building programs and enhancing financial and economic assistance to build up a strong and independent Palestinian national economy and to strengthen the economic and social development of Palestine, including the City of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, as its capital.

16- Calls on the international community to continue providing humanitarian assistance, capacity building as well as economic assistance to Palestine.

17- Calls Member States, Arab and Islamic banks and institutions, voluntary action institutions, private and public sectors and individuals to support the city of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif; to ensure the socio-economic empowerment of the Palestinian people through the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), in implementation of the 13^th Islamic Summit resolution.

18- Requests IDB to support economic and social development endeavors in Quds Al-Sharif and other occupied territories through the "Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development” by prioritizing Palestine’s projects and formulating special and flexible mechanisms and procedures for them.

19- Also expresses its gratitude and appreciation to the Government of Turkey for hosting and wise chairmanship of this meeting, called for by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan which agreed with the Turkish side to hold the meeting in parallel with the Summit Conference for the sake of uniting efforts; and commends its continued support for the Cause of Palestine and Al-Quds and the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people;

20- Commend the resolution adopted by the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level during the emergency session held on 9 December 2017 upon the invitation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan chair of the current session of Arab Summit, and the State of Palestine.

21- Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this resolution with all relevant parties, assess the situation in the light of developments and submit a report thereon to the forthcoming session of CFM.