ISTANBUL — Muslim leaders called on Friday for an international force to be deployed to protect Palestinians after dozens of protesters were shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border this week.

At a special summit in Turkey convened by President Tayyip Erdogan, they also pledged to take "appropriate political (and) economic measures" against countries that followed the United States in moving their Israel embassies to contested Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

The final declaration of the meeting of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) described the killing of 60 Palestinians on Monday, as "savage crimes committed by the Israeli forces with the backing of the US administration".

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir reaffirmed the position of the government and people of Saudi Arabia that the issue of Al-Quds goes beyond politics and cannot be compromised by any means.

“No one should think that our preoccupation with side issues, threats, and immediate crises has distracted us from our steadfast position on Palestine and Al-Quds as our primary cause until the Palestinian people gain their full rights and establish their independent state with Al-Quds as its capital,” he said.

Saudi Arabia believes that a peaceful solution is the only way to restore the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

In this regard, it has already submitted a peace initiative adopted by the Arab Summit in Beirut in 2002. It also received the approval of the OIC at the Extraordinary Summit held in Makkah In 2005, where the Arab Peace Initiative established a roadmap for the final resolution of all issues of conflict and within the framework of the two-state solution, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital.

Jubeir also noted the 29th Arab Summit was named as “Al-Quds Summit” by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman as a confirmation of the importance of the Palestinian cause.

It said the violence should be put on the agenda of the UN Security Council and General Assembly, and called on the United Nations to investigate the killings.

The summit was attended by Jordan's King Abdullah.

Abdullah said the US decision five months ago to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital had "weakened the pillars of peace ... and deepened the despair that leads to violence." — Agencies