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Organization of Islamic Cooperation rejects Trump peace plan, despite Saudi ‘appreciation’

The OIC called on its member states “not to engage with this plan or to cooperate with the U.S. administration in implementing it in any form.”

By World Israel News Staff 

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has announced its rejection of President Donald Trump ‘s Middle East plan which centers around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Summing up a summit held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Monday, the 57-member body called on its member states “not to engage with this plan or to cooperate with the U.S. administration in implementing it in any form,” according to reports in the Arab and Islamic media.

It followed a rejection of the Trump plan on Saturday by the Arab League, which charged that the American initiative did not “meet the minimum rights and aspirations of Palestinian people.”

The OIC meeting was “requested by the Palestinian leadership,” reports Al Jazeera.

“The OIC is the second-largest intergovernmental organization in the world after the United Nations, with a collective population reaching more than 1.8 billion,” notes the Qatari broadcaster.

Meanwhile, Iran “accused its regional rival Saudi Arabia of blocking its officials from attending the OIC meeting,” Al Jazeera added.

At a news conference in Tehran on Monday, government spokesman Ali Rabiyee reiterated Iran’s own objection to the U.S. plan, saying that it “lacks legitimacy as it ignores the Palestinians’ rights,” reports the Iranian Fars news agency.

“A plan in which the Palestinians are absent will no doubt have no legitimacy,” Rabiyee told reporters as cited by Fars.

Despite hosting the OIC summit which rejected the plan, Saudi Arabia itself issued a statement on January 28, the date on which Trump announced his initiative, in which Riyadh voiced “support for all efforts aimed at reaching a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian cause,” adding that it “appreciates the efforts of President Trump’s administration to develop a comprehensive peace plan between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides and encourages the start of direct peace negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, under the auspices of the United States.”