OIC indirectly condemns Trump plan to move Israel embassy

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Foreign ministers from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Thursday indirectly condemned plans by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

A statement issued after a meeting in Kuala Lumpur didn’t mention the United States or Trump by name, but said the OIC rejected any actions that could undermine the ability of Palestinians to claim part of Jerusalem in a future state.

It called on governments to desist from any activities that might encourage Israel to “pursue its illegal occupation and annexation of ….east Jerusalem, including any such encouragement through the transfer of their diplomatic missions to the city.”

The statement invited its 57 member states “to take the necessary steps and measures” in response to any such hostile position, but didn’t elaborate.

Trump has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of a future state.

The move would also distance the U.S. from much of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital.