The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, says a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is 'an insult which will not be forgotten'. The US used its veto in order to stop the resolution passing, after every other security council member supported it. US outnumbered 14 to 1 as it vetoes UN vote on status of Jerusalem.
US outnumbered 14 to 1 as it vetoes UN vote on status of Jerusalem
Published on 18 Dec 2017
A UN security council resolution calling for the withdrawal of Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has been backed by every council member except the US, which used its veto.
The unanimity of the rest of the council was a stark rebuke to the Trump administration over its unilateral move earlier this month, which upended decades of international consensus.
The Egyptian-drafted resolution did not specifically mention the US or Trump but expressed “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem”.
A spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, responded to the veto by saying it was “unacceptable and threatens the stability of the international community because it disrespects it”.
The UK and France had indicated in advance that they would would back the text, which demanded that all countries comply with pre-existing UNSC resolutions on Jerusalem, dating back to 1967, including requirements that the city’s final status be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The resolution was denounced in furious language by the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, who described it as “an insult” that would not be forgotten. “The United States will not be told by any country where we can put our embassy,” she said.
“It’s scandalous to say we are putting back peace efforts,” she added. “The fact that this veto is being done in defence of American sovereignty and in defence of America’s role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us; it should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the security council.”
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, tweeted: “Thank you, Ambassador Haley. On Hanukkah, you spoke like a Maccabi. You lit a candle of truth. You dispel the darkness. One defeated the many. Truth defeated lies. Thank you, President Trump.”
The tabling of the resolution followed a weekend of negotiations aimed at securing the widest consensus possible on the issue. The vote has underlined once again the widespread international opposition to the US move, even among some of its closest allies.
It came ahead of a trip by the US vice-president, Mike Pence, to Jerusalem on Wednesday that will take place amid a deep rupture in US-Palestinian relations.
The Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party has called for a day of demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories to coincide with the Pence trip.
Palestinian officials had warned that in the event of a US veto on the security council, they would also seek a resolution at the general assembly.
The push for a vote – which came in the knowledge that the US would use its veto – followed Trump’s decision to upend decades of policy by declaring that the US recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that he plans to move its embassy there.
Speaking before the vote, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, said the text was in line with London’s position on Jerusalem as an issue that must be resolved through negotiations.
In an apparent rejection of the authority of the security council, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Dann, said ahead of the vote: “Members of the council can vote again and again — for a hundred more times. It won’t change the simple fact that Jerusalem is, has been, and always will be the capital of Israel.”
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U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution rejecting Trump’s decision on Jerusalem
By Carol Morello December 18
The United States blocked a Security Council resolution Monday at the United Nations that would have rejected President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s vote marked the Trump administration’s first Security Council veto. All 14 other members supported the resolution, underscoring the U.S. isolation on the issue.
Haley said she cast the veto “in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America’s role in the Middle East peace process.”
''Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in reversal of long U.S. policy''
The draft of the resolution, called for by Egypt, did not name the United States or Trump. It expressed “deep regret at certain decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,” and asserted that “Jerusalem is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations.” It further declared as null and void “any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition” of the city, and urged countries not to establish diplomatic missions in the city.
Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital and start lengthy preparations to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv has been criticized by all the Arab countries and many U.S. allies, including fellow Security Council members France and Britain.
It comes as Vice President Pence is preparing to visit Israel later this week. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has refused to meet with him because of the decision, a move the White House called “unfortunate.” Israeli media reported Monday that the rabbi with authority over the Western Hall declined to grant Pence permission to hold a news conference at the site. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation said they were in “discussions” in advance of Pence’s visit.
Jerusalem’s status is one of the most thorny and emotional issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel captured the eastern part of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967, annexed it and has since expanded the city’s boundaries. It considers Jerusalem its undivided and eternal capital. The Palestinians desire to make East Jerusalem the capital of an eventual Palestinian state. In deference to the principle that Jerusalem’s status be determined in the final stages of negotiations — which have been frozen since 2014 — all countries have situated their embassies in Tel Aviv, a roughly 45-minute drive from Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted his gratitude for the U.S. veto.
“Thank you, Ambassador Haley,” he wrote. “On Hanukkah, you spoke like a Maccabi. You lit a candle of truth. You dispel the darkness. One defeated the many. Truth defeated lies. Thank you, President Trump.”
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called the U.S. veto a “provocation” that he said “will not help in creating peace in the region.”
During the Security Council session, U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said that since a 2016 resolution demanding a halt to settlement activity in East Jerusalem, construction had continued unabated, and there has been an increase in violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The resolution passed with 14 votes, and an abstention by the United States under the Obama administration. Mladenov warned against more unilateral actions, saying the lack of a peace proposal is “undermining moderates and empowering radicals.”
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Security Council resolutions criticizing Israel’s actions in Jerusalem will not change history.
“It’s time for all countries to recognize that Jerusalem always was and always will be the capital of the Jewish people and the capital of Israel,” he said.
Ruth Eglash, in Jerusalem, contributed to this report.
