Jerusalem latest: Palestinians will not accept any US role in peace process 'from now on', says Mahmoud Abbas

More than 50 Muslim nations have come together to "reject and condemn" US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, calling the US "unfit" to lead future peace talks in the region.

An extraordinary Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting was held in Istanbul on Wednesday in order to coordinate and counter the Muslim world's response to the Trump administration's decision.

The resulting Istanbul Declaration on Freedom for al Quds, the Arabic name for Jerusalem, calls the move "null and void", and calls on the whole world to recognise an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.

The US' new stance means it can no longer act as an "unbiased" sponsor in Middle East peace process, a toned down final version of the communique read.

Addressing the 57-member strong conference, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Palestinians will no longer accept any American role in the Middle East peace process at all.

While Palestinians remain committed to peace, Washington can no longer be accepted as a "fair negotiator", he said, having provoked Muslim and Christian sentiments over the future of the holy city.

His comments were echoed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that the US' role is now "over" in brokering peace in the region.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day war, an action that was never internationally recognised. Control of it remains one of the core stumbling blocks to an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Like many presidential hopefuls before him, on the campaign trail Mr Trump promised to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Over the last year, the new administration has delayed a decision on the issue.

Mr Trump's announcement last week, however, upends decades of US policy: the previous US position had been to clarify the status of Jerusalem in a final peace agreement as per the terms of the 1993 Oslo accords.

While welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, many other world leaders - including the US' Middle Eastern allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia - have expressed concern that the controversial move could spark renewed violence in the region and wider Muslim world.

The move was met with international outrage: in the West Bank and Gaza four Palestinians were killed in ensuing clashes and protests have smouldered worldwide for days.

The president, who has proved unpredictable on foreign policy matters, has repeatedly conveyed a desire to broker peace in the intractable Arab-Israeli conflict, a goal he has described as "the ultimate deal".

The US has been seeking to resurrect talks between Israel and the Palestinians since Mr Trump took office, with the help of ally Saudi Arabia.

An impasse in talks thanks to the Palestinian rejection of the US would complicate Washington's efforts to get Saudi Arabia and other Arab states to unite with the US and Israel against Iran.

Many states were already reluctant to get to close to the Israelis without progress on the Palestinian issue, and will need far more convincing now.

The issue has earned the US a rare rebuke from King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who also said from Riyadh on Wednesday that the Palestinians have a right to East Jerusalem as their capital.

In recent months there has been mounting pressure on the Palestinian leadership from both Riyadh and Washington to accept the terms of a less than favourable peace deal. The blueprint is understood to contain steps leading to a two state solution, but without the right to return for Palestinian refugees or full sovereignty.

The US has reiterated it is committed to the peace process despite the decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israeli.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last week it is still up to the Israelis and Palestinians to hammer out all other issues surrounding the city in future talks.