A resounding majority of United Nations member states has defied unprecedented threats by the US to approve a draft resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The non-binding measure passed at a UN General Assembly emergency meeting on Thursday with 128 votes in favour and nine against, while 35 countries abstained.
It passed despite intimidation by Trump, who had threatened on Wednesday to eliminate financial aid to member states who would vote against his decision, while Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, had warned that she would be “taking names” of those countries.
Shortly after the vote, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter that UN member states showed “dignity and sovereignty are not for sale”, while thanking every country that supported the resolution.
Today, the international community once again showed that dignity and sovereignty are not for sale.#Turkey #Palestine and all other co-sponsors thank every country that supported #UNGA resolution on Palestine. pic.twitter.com/nw4Up6U8Fk
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) December 21, 2017
The session on Thursday at the 193-member body was held at the request of Arab and Muslim countries after the US vetoed the same measure in the Security Council on Monday.
The US was outnumbered 14 to 1 in that vote.
While the Security Council’s five permanent members – the US, Britain, France, China and Russia – had veto power on Monday’s vote, there are no vetoes at the General Assembly.
Similar to the Egyptian-drafted text that was blocked by Washington on Monday, the draft resolution approved on Thursday did not mention the US by name but expressed “deep regret at recent decisions” concerning Jerusalem’s status.
Source: Al Jazeera