Turkish embassy to be opened in East Jerusalem

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday reportedly said that his country will be opening an embassy in East Jerusalem after members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) declared the city to be the capital of Palestine.

"Recognition of the Palestinian state is in line with UN decisions. We will strive for recognition of East Jerusalem as Palestine's capital," Daily Sabah quoted Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying.

According to Daily Sabah, the OIC has declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine "under occupation" and urged the U.S. to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.

Earlier, while addressing a summit of the OIC, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the world to recognise "occupied" East Jerusalem as the "capital of Palestine."

The OIC summit aimed at forging a unified stance after US President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing decades of US foreign policy.

Jerusalem is considered a sacred place, which is home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites.

However, it is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as a capital of its future state.