ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan returned home Saturday after concluding his visit to Saudi Arabia where he represented the country at the 14th summit of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held in Makkah.

During his stay, the Prime Minister addressed the OIC forum and called for joint efforts by Muslim leaders against challenges including Islamophobia and to counter the narrative of ‘Islamic terrorism’.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has renewed its commitment to the Palestinian cause saying that it opposes all illegal Israeli measures aimed at changing facts in occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, and undermining the two-state solution.

The OIC Summit in Makkah in its final statement in Makkah today condemned any position adopted by an international body that supports prolonging occupation of Palestinian territories, including a U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

It urged member countries to take appropriate measures against countries that move their embassies to Jerusalem.

The OIC also refused to accept any proposal for peaceful settlement that did not accord with Palestinians’ legitimate inalienable rights.

The summit also condemned the inhumane situation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and asked it to halt the violence.

It urged the United Sates to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The OIC emphasized that the subversive terrorist acts in the Gulf region pose a serious threat to security of navigation and world energy supplies. </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it condemns any position adopted by an international body that supports prolonging occupation of Palestinian territories, including a U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The OIC summit in Mecca said in its final statement on Saturday that it opposes all illegal Israeli measures aimed at changing facts in occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, and undermining the two-state solution.

It urged member countries to take “appropriate measures” against countries that move their embassies to Jerusalem.

The OIC also refused to accept any proposal for peaceful settlement that did not accord with Palestinians’ legitimate inalienable rights, the final statement said.

The OIC stressed the importance of amassing support for the budget of the Palestinian government to continue its work.

The OIC summit also urged the United Sates to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Mecca refused to accept any decision to change legal and demographic status of Syria’s Golan Heights, especially the U.S. decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory, the summit’s final statement said.

Reporting by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Himani Sarkar </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - A summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned any position adopted by an international body that supports prolonging occupation, including a U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, it said on Saturday.

The Mecca summit also refused all illegal Israeli measures aimed at changing facts in occupied Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, and undermining the two-state solution, it said in a statement.

The summit urged member countries to take “appropriate measures” against countries that move their embassies to Jerusalem, it added.

The summit refused any proposal for peaceful settlement that did not accord with Palestinians’ legitimate inalienable rights, the statement said. </s> A Saudi-hosted Islamic summit yesterday threw its support behind Palestinians ahead of a US-led peace plan suspected to be skewed in favour of Israel, as Muslim states rallied around Saudi Arabia over tensions with Iran.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting, the third and final Iran-focused summit in the holy city of Makkah this week, denounced controversial US moves to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

The summit of the 57-member bloc, marked by the notable absence of Iranian and Turkish leaders, called for a “boycott” of countries that have opened diplomatic missions in the city.

Trump broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.

The OIC’s statement comes as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner prepares to roll out economic aspects of his long-awaited Middle East peace plan at a conference in Bahrain later this month.

The plan, which has been heavily talked up by Trump and dubbed his “deal of the century”, has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say the president’s policies have shown him to be overwhelmingly biased in favour of Israel. The Palestinians see the eastern part of the disputed city as the capital of their future state.

Saudi King Salman told leaders of the OIC countries gathered at the summit: “The Palestinian cause is the cornerstone of the works of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and is the focus of our attention until the brotherly Palestinian people get all their legitimate rights.

“We reaffirm our unequivocal rejection of any measures that would prejudice the historical and legal status of Quds (Jerusalem).”

OIC summit condemned the inhumane situation of Rohingya Muslims, urging a halt to violence. The summit in Mecca also stressed that Myanmar’s government has the responsibility to protect its citizens, the statement added.

The OIC also backed Saudi Arabia in escalating tensions with Iran, as King Salman warned that “terrorist” attacks in the Gulf region could imperil global energy supplies.

Meanwhile, the head of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah warned on that if there was a war against Iran the whole Middle East region would “erupt”, amid escalating US-Iranian tensions. </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit condemned the inhumane situation of Rohingya Muslims, urging a halt to violence, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The summit in Mecca also stressed that Myanmar’s government has the responsibility to protect its citizens, the statement added. </s> The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit condemned the inhumane situation of Rohingya Muslims, urging a halt to violence, it said in a statement on Saturday.

Any unauthorised use or reproduction of bdnews24.com content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited and constitutes copyright infringement liable to legal action. </s> BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government vowed to recover the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday as its allies and enemies alike condemned U.S. President Donald Trump for moving to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory seized in war.

Trump’s statement on Thursday marked a dramatic shift in U.S. policy over the status of a disputed area that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 - a move not recognized internationally.

Russia and Iran, military allies of Damascus, condemned the shift towards recognition - comments which the Syrian government said showed Washington’s “blind” pro-Israeli bias.

“The Syrian nation is more determined to liberate this precious piece of Syrian national land through all available means,” the Syrian state news agency cited an official source as saying.

The Golan Heights would remain “Syrian, Arab”, it said, saying the statement showed contempt for international law.

Turkey, a U.S.-allied state and an adversary of the Damascus government, also criticized the move, saying it had brought the Middle East to the edge of a new crisis and the legitimisation of the occupation of the Golan Heights could not be allowed.

“U.S. President Trump’s unfortunate statement yesterday has brought the region to the brink of a new crisis,” Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said.

Iran said the U.S. position was illegal and unacceptable, and Russia said a change in the status of the Golan Heights would be a direct violation of U.N. resolutions.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is touring the region, is due in Beirut on Friday where he will he will meet political allies of the powerful, Iran-backed Hezbollah, including President Michel Aoun.

Both Iran and Russia have deployed forces into Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian conflict, with Iran sending both its own forces and also backing regional Shi’ite militias such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah that have helped Damascus.

“This illegal and unacceptable recognition does not change the fact that it belongs to Syria,” an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman was cited as saying by state TV.

In a speech at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Turkey’s Erdogan said: “we cannot allow the legitimisation of the occupation of the Golan Heights”.

The Arab League, which suspended Syria in 2011, said Trump’s comment paved “the way for official American recognition” of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the statements were “completely beyond international law”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed the United States to recognize its claim and raised that possibility in his first White House meeting with Trump in February 2017. Trump’s statement has given a boost to Netanyahu in the middle of his re-election campaign.

Netanyahu has praised Trump for “making history” with the statement.

“After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!” Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

Trump’s move followed the U.S. recognition in December 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital - a decision that also drew international criticism as the disputed city’s status remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. </s> OIC talks also come out in favor of Saudi Arabia amid Iran tensions

A Saudi-hosted Islamic summit on Saturday threw its support behind Palestinians ahead of a U.S.-led peace plan suspected to be skewed in favor of Israel, as Muslim nations rallied around Saudi Arabia over tensions with Iran.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) talks, the third and final Iran-focused summit in the holy city of Mecca this week, denounced the controversial U.S. move to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

The summit of the 57-member state body, marked by the notable absence of Iran and Turkey’s leaders, also called for a “boycott” of countries that have opened diplomatic missions in the city.

Trump broke with decades of bipartisan policy to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017.

The OIC’s statement comes as Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner prepares to roll out economic aspects of his long-awaited Middle East peace plan at a conference in Bahrain later this month. The plan, dubbed by Trump as the “deal of the century,” has already been rejected by the Palestinians, who say Trump’s policies have shown him to be blatantly biased in favor of Israel.

The Palestinians see the eastern part of the disputed city as the capital of their future state.

Kushner, who was in Jerusalem on Friday on the latest leg of a regional tour to sell the plan, had looked to an alliance with Saudi Arabia against Iran as a way to gain Arab support. But Saudi King Salman told leaders of the IOC countries gathered at the summit: “The Palestinian cause is the cornerstone of the works of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and is the focus of our attention until the brotherly Palestinian people get all their legitimate rights. We reaffirm our unequivocal rejection of any measures that would prejudice the historical and legal status of Quds [Jerusalem].”

The OIC also backed Saudi Arabia over escalating tensions with Iran, as King Salman warned that “terrorist” attacks in the Gulf region could imperil global energy supplies.

The remark came after sabotage attacks damaged four vessels, two of them Saudi oil tankers, off the U.A.E. and twin Yemeni rebel drone attacks shut down a key Saudi oil pipeline. “We confirm that terrorist actions not only target the kingdom and the Gulf region, but also target the safety of navigation and world oil supplies,” the king told OIC member states.

Tehran has strongly denied involvement in any of the incidents. In a tweet just before the start of the summit, the king vowed to confront “aggressive threats and subversive activities.”

“Undermining the security of the kingdom effectively undermines the security of the Arab and Islamic world,” said OIC Secretary-General Yousef bin Ahmed al-Othaimeen, voicing solidarity that was shared by other members.

In two previous back-to-back summits on Friday, Gulf and Arab allies similarly threw their support behind Saudi Arabia, which drew accusations from Iran of “sowing division.”

The summits came after Trump’s hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that Iranian naval mines were “almost certainly” responsible for the damage to the four ships off the United Arab Emirates on May 12.

The findings of a five-nation inquiry into what happened have yet to be released.

Tehran dismissed Bolton’s accusation as “laughable” and accused him of pursuing “evil desires for chaos in the region.”

Regional tensions have grown since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration re-imposed sanctions against Iran, after Washington pulled out of a multilateral 2015 nuclear accord signed with the Islamic republic. But Trump has appeared to soften his tone towards Tehran, saying that his government does not seek “regime change.”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was notably absent from the key OIC summit, an AFP photographer said. A regional heavyweight, Turkey—which maintains close ties with Iran—was instead represented by its Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani was also not present but sent a representative to the talks, an AFP reporter said.

Erdogan’s visit would have been his first to the kingdom since the brutal murder last October of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which tarnished the international reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
At the close of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Mecca, the OIC says it will not accept any decision to change the legal and demographic status of Syria's Golan Heights, that it condemns any position adopted by an international body that supports prolonging occupation of Palestinian territories, and it condemns the inhumane situation of Rohingya Muslims.