President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is meeting with leaders of Islamic countries in Istanbul, Turkey, at a summit expected to deliver a concrete response to the controversial move by the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an alliance of 57 countries, is holding an extraordinary summit on Wednesday to discuss the situation and formulate a unified position from the Muslim world on the serious escalation.

Prior to his departure for Istanbul, Jokowi emphasized the importance of the meeting, saying it was the first opportunity for OIC member states to deliver a strong joint response to the statement by US President Donald Trump and to discuss how to protect Palestine.

Jokowi, who is accompanied by First Lady Iriana, is scheduled to return to Jakarta on Thursday.

“I will use the occasion to convey the rejection from us, the Indonesian people, of the unilateral US decision and ask OIC member states to unify their voices to protect Palestine,” he said.

Jokowi, president of the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, said he hoped the Istanbul meeting would deliver “concrete benefits to world peace, particularly regarding the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.”

The meeting comes amid worldwide protest following the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the city considered holy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

For the first time in years, a US president would not sign a security waiver allowing the US administration to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv for an additional six months.

Most countries consider Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel after the 1967 war, to be occupied territory and believe Israel and Palestine need to decide on the status of the city through bilateral talks.

As expected, the recent move by the US has attracted a chorus of condemnation from state leaders and widespread protest around the world.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said the decision was a declaration of US withdrawal from “the role it has played in the peace process” in the Middle East.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said it was a violation of international law to support Israel “while Palestinian society’s wounds are still bleeding,” while Jokowi said the recognition violated numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions on the conflict.

While Jokowi’s visit to Istanbul may not be long, he has deployed his top diplomat to seek support from allies in the Middle East and Europe through a series of meetings squeezed into just one week.

Since Monday, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi has discussed the issue with her counterparts from Jordan and Palestine in separate bilateral meetings.

In a recorded video statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, Retno said her meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Mariki in Amman had been positive, as the two countries would bring “similar elements” to the OIC meeting.

Seniors officials of OIC member states are tasked with drafting an outcome document for the IOC meeting.

“The SOM [senior officials’ meeting] will start [Wednesday], and we will keep our eye on it,” she said.

Previously, Retno met her counterpart from Jordan as well as communicated with foreign ministers from the United Kingdom and Germany.

During the meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Sunday, Retno reiterated that the extraordinary meeting should go beyond unifying voices in rejecting the US move on Jerusalem by also helping Palestine through this difficult time.

“More importantly, we have to push for the Palestinians to get their independence as soon as possible,” she said.

Jokowi has made Palestinian independence one of his campaign promises, just as Trump promised to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

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