Thai Muslims decry US Jerusalem recognition

CAIRO (AA) – A Thai Muslim body on Tuesday decried U.S. President Donald Trump's move to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying the move stripped Washington of its role as a peace mediator in the Middle East.

The Sheikhul Islam Office said in a statement that Trump’s decision had terminated the U.S. role in peacemaking between the Palestinians and Israel.

The decision "reflected Trump's ethnic and religious prejudice towards Islamic nation, which will make the region more conflict-prone and unlikely achieve peace," it said.

The U.S. policy reverse on Jerusalem has sparked a wave of protests across the Arab and Muslim world, as well as worldwide condemnations.

At an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held last week in Istanbul, participants responded to the U.S. move by formally recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

The Thai Muslim body called on Muslim nations to implement the OIC resolution, which he said "also calls on all member states of OIC to jointly counterbalance the power of the United States or any other countries that violate human rights and sovereignty of others".

On Monday, the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in Jerusalem, breaking with the rest of the Council.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967-- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.