OIC to meet in Istanbul Friday to mull Israel violence

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia

The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an extraordinary summit in Istanbul on Friday to discuss recent Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip.

According to an OIC statement, the summit is being convened at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Monday, at least 61 Palestinians were martyred near the Gaza border by Israeli army gunfire during protests against the relocation of Washington’s Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Turkey has responded to the violence by asking the Israeli ambassador to leave the country, while also recalling its ambassadors to the U.S. and Israel “for consultations”.

Since the Gaza rallies kicked off on Mar. 30, scores of Palestinian demonstrators have been killed -- and thousands injured -- by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the border.