President Hamid arrives in Istanbul for OIC summit

President Md Abdul Hamid has arrived in Istanbul to attend a special summit of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation to discuss the US’s controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The president landed at TAV Istanbul Ataturk Airport at 4am local time on Tuesday. He had departed Dhaka aboard a Turkish Airlines flight at 10:30pm on Monday.

Hamid was welcomed at the airport by Bangladesh Ambassador to Tirkey M Allama Siddiki and Istanbul Consulate General Mohammad Monirul Islam.

The president left the airport and arrived at the Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel, where he will stay during this trip.

Turkish President and current OIC chair Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the summit after US President Donald Trump reversed decades of US foreign policy to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec 6. The US said it would also move its embassy from its current location in Tel Aviv accordingly.

Jerusalem is regarded as a holy city by Muslims, Christians and Jews. Israel claims that Jerusalem is its capital. Palestinian leaders say East Jerusalem will be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces have clashed in Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Nabul and various other areas since the announcement. Arab countries, the EU and the UN have all criticised the Trump administration’s decision.

Palestinian Islamist resistance group Hamas has called for a second intifada (mass protest) in the wake of the US decision.

Bangladesh joined the international community to condemn Trump’s announcement.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the move would jeopardise the peace efforts Washington itself had initiated.

“Bangladesh stresses on preserving the legal status of Jerusalem within the framework of relevant UN resolutions,” the foreign ministry earlier said.

“Bangladesh reaffirms its position in favour of establishing the State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Bangladesh also urged all related parties to take a “pragmatic approach” to the Middle East Peace Process in reaching a two-state solution for peace and stability in the region.

The US decision was heavily criticised at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday. On Saturday, the Arab League held an emergency meeting in Cairo and called on the US to reverse the decision.

Turkish President Erdogan has heavily criticised the decision, calling the US a ‘partner in bloodshed’.

He also threatened to end diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv unless the decision is reversed.

President Hamid will return to Dhaka on Thursday following the summit.