US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday warned countries who vote to pressure the US to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital at the UN that the President will take it ‘personally.’
The UN General Assembly will hold an emergency session Thursday to vote on the proposed measure that the United States vetoed at the Security Council.
‘The president will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us,’ Haley wrote to a number of countries in a letter seen by AFP.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s United Nations ambassador went on offense before a General Assembly special session on the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
Ahead of the hearing Nikki Haley, Trump’s ambassador to the U.N. wrote to other ambassadors saying he ‘will be watching this vote carefully’
‘We will take note of each and every vote on this issue,’ she wrote to several UN ambassadors. ‘As you consider your vote, I want you to know that the President and U.S. take this vote personally,’ she added.
On Twitter, Haley posted that ‘the US will be taking names’ during the vote on Thursday at the 193-nation assembly.
Turkey and Yemen requested the urgent meeting on behalf of the Arab group of countries and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The two countries circulated a draft resolution on Tuesday that mirrors the vetoed measure, reaffirming that any decision on the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be rescinded.
Egypt had put forward the draft at the council which was backed by all 14 other Security Council members in the vote on Monday.
Like the Egyptian draft, the text before the assembly does not mention Trump’s decision but expresses ‘deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem.’
Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour said he expected ‘overwhelming support’ for the measure stating that Jerusalem is an issue ‘to be resolved through negotiations’ between Israel and the Palestinians.
‘The General Assembly will say, without the fear of the veto, that the international community is refusing to accept the unilateral position of the United States,’ Mansour told reporters.
Haley also posted that ‘the US will be taking names’ during the vote on Thursday at the 193-nation assembly
Key allies including Britain and France are against the U.S. move on Israel, which Trump made on December 6 (Pictured: French President Macron (L) and British PM Theresa May
No country has veto powers in the General Assembly, contrary to the council where the United States, along with Britain, China, France and Russia, can block any resolution.
Trump’s December 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem broke with international consensus, triggering protests across the Muslim world and drawing strong condemnation.
Key US allies Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Ukraine were among the 14 countries in the 15-member council that voted in favor of the measure.
After that vote, Haley described the 14-1 vote ‘an insult’ and warned ‘it won’t be forgotten.’
The Muslim world has seen widespread protests and in Gaza City, they were continuing Wednesday ahead of the United Nations special session
Haley’s letter explains that ‘the U.S. Congress declared that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of Israel, and that the U.S. Embassy should be located in Jerusalem. President Trump affirmed that declaration by officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.’
‘The President’s announcement did not prejudge final status negotiations in any way, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. The President also made sure to support the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites, and did not advocate changes to the arrangements at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif,’ she added.
She went further on Tuesday, warning in her Twitter post: ‘At the UN we’re always asked to do more & give more. So, when we make a decision, at the will of the American ppl, abt where to locate OUR embassy, we don’t expect those we’ve helped to target us.
‘On Thurs there’ll be a vote criticizing our choice. The US will be taking names.’
After the clash at the top UN body, the White House announced that US Vice President Mike Pence was delaying a trip to the Middle East planned for this week.
Israel seized control of the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Middle East war and sees all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital. The Palestinians view the east as the capital of their future state.
Several UN resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from territory seized during the 1967 war.
A picture taken on December 19, 2017 shows a partial view of the Jerusalem’s Old City with the Dome of the Rock on the left and the two domes of the Holy Sepulchre church on the right