President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off funding, the United Nations approved by a resounding vote on Thursday a motion rejecting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
128 members voted on Thursday in favor of the resolution supporting the longstanding international consensus that the status of Jerusalem – which is claimed as a capital by both Israel and the Palestinians – can only be settled as an agreed final issue in a peace deal. Countries which voted for the resolution included major recipients of US aid such as Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
But only nine states – including the United States and Israel –voted against the resolution. The other countries which supported Washington were Togo, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Twenty-two of the 28 EU countries voted for the resolution, including the UK and France. Germany – which in the past has abstained on measures relating to Israel – also voted in favor.
Thirty-five countries abstained, including five EU states, and other US allies including Australia, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico. Ambassadors from several abstaining countries, including Mexico, used their time on the podium to criticise Trump’s unilateral move.
Another 21 delegations were absent from the vote, suggesting the Trump’s warning over funding cuts and Israel’s lobbying may have had some effect.
While support for the resolution was somewhat less than Palestinian officials had hoped, the meager tally of just nine votes in support of the US and Israeli position was a serious diplomatic blow for Trump.
After the vote, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, described the result as a “victory for Palestine”. The Palestinians’ UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, described the result as a “massive setback” for the US.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected the UN vote out of hand.
“Israel thanks, President Trump for his unequivocal position in favor of Jerusalem and thanks to the countries that voted together with Israel, together with the truth,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
“The state of Israel rejects this vote outright,” Netanyahu said. “Jerusalem is our capital, we will continue to build there and additional embassies will move to Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, whether or not the UN recognizes this. It took 70 years for the United States to formally recognize this, and it will take years for the UN to do the same.”
Michael Oren, Israel’s deputy minister for diplomacy, called for Israel to cut its ties with the UN and expel the organization from its Jerusalem offices.
The Palestinian ambassador insisted the vote was more about Trump’s foreign policy approach than the status of Jerusalem. Palestinians want the eastern sector as the capital of their future state and fiercely oppose any Israeli attempt to extend sovereignty there.
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