The summit is being held at the request of Palestine, after violence escalated in Israel and the occupied territories in recent months over Israel's restriction of access to the Al -Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which is the third-holiest site in Islam.

“This high-level summit is expected to push international forums to prioritize the issue of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the situation [there] is worrying,” Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said in the statement.

Participants are expected to produce a resolution to reaffirm the principal position of OIC member countries in supporting an independent Palestine.

Calls for Indonesia to host the extraordinary summit mounted during the organization’s ministerial meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The OIC and Palestine specifically requested Indonesia's participation, acknowledging that support for Palestinian independence has long been a key part of Indonesia’s foreign policy.

The issue played a prominent role at the high-profile commemorative Asian-African Conference in Bandung last year.

A number of bilateral meetings between President Joko Widodo and his counterparts, as well as between foreign ministers, are scheduled to take place during the summit.