The OIC emergency summit saw heated reactions exchanged on US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The summit, called by Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, was attended by leaders of almost 20 states and denounced the most recent abnegation of Palestinian’s right to the city of Jerusalem. The response by Muslim states has been unequivocally critical of Trump’s latest foreign policy debacle. The participants highlighted that the US could no longer be trusted to serve as a negotiator in the conflict. While Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas issued a warning to the US and insisted on East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, Benyamen Netanyahu said he remained ‘unimpressed’ about the OIC summit. What remains unresolved is the absence of any high-level authority figure representing Saudi Arabia, the country that leads the newly-formed and problematic military alliance of Muslim states. This absence was all the more significant in view of the recent overtures between Israeli and Saudi higher ups. Recently, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz called on the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to visit Israel; supposedly to further stability in the region. Israel’s preference for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies does not solve suspicions amongst key players such as Iran, against whom Saudi Arabia maintains caustic relations. The absence of high-level diplomats or leaders from Saudi Arabia at the emergency Summit raises concerns about the unanimity amongst Muslim countries. Whilst some countries such as Palestine, Iran, and Turkey may have shown where their loyalties lie, Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to mingle with them for a cause that has historically seen Muslim nations converge at a unequivocal position raises questions. For a strong and clear message to Israel and the US and for a commitment to the two-state plan, the Muslim world needs to give up conflicting interests and campaign for collaborative and constructive action for contentious issues amongst Muslim countries. * Published in Daily Times, December 16th 2017.