REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia will host the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)'s Extraordinary Meeting on Palestine and Al Quds to reaffirm the Islamic states' stance on supporting Palestinian independence and the status of Jerusalem.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry's Multilateral Cooperation Director General, Hasan Kleib, said during a press briefing here on Thursday, that the meeting will be held in Jakarta on March 6 and 7.

"Indonesia was specifically asked by the Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister and OICs' Secretary General to hold this meeting," Hasan noted.

He explained the importance of the meeting and said it would address limited access for the Muslims to enter Al Quds because of the restrictions imposed by Israel.

In fact, according to the 1947's United Nation's (U.N.'s) Partition Plan, Jerusalem, where Al Quds is located should be regulated by the U.N. as the site is a sacred city for Muslims, Christians and Jews.

But then, Israel annexed Jerusalem after a war in 1967 and claimed Jerusalem as its territory.

Hasan said the annexation remains until today, and currently Israel has expanded its settlement to West Bank, which is the de facto territory of Palestine.

"It would be dangerous if someday a referendum was held, and the number of Palestinians drastically decreased as they left the area, while Israelis continued to reside in the area," he noted.

"It means, the referendum will be won by Israel owing to of its bigger population."

Hence, during the meeting, the leaders will discuss five core issues, namely borders, settlement, status of Jerusalem, return of Palestinian refugees to their origin, and water circulation in the West Bank of Jordan River.

As the host of the meeting, Indonesia has invited 57 OIC member states, four observer states (Thailand, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, Republic of Central Africa), and the Quartet Group of Palestine-Israel Negotiation (U.N., European Union, Russia and the United States).

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