In an emergency session, the United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to condemn the U.S. for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and pledging to relocate its embassy there.
The vote was 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions. Only Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo joined the United States and Israel in opposing the measure.
American ambassador Nikki Haley blasted anti-Israel member nations during a pre-vote debate, warning that there would be a price to pay for standing in President Donald Trump’s way.
‘This vote will be remembered,’ she said as the entire UN General Assembly looked on.
‘America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. That is what the American people want us to do. And it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that,’ Haley lectured from the central podium.
‘But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the UN and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the UN.’
America’s United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley warned Thursday that America will remember who voted against Donald Trump’s decision to move a U.S. embassy to Jerusalem when it comes time for other nations ask for ever-increasing funding of the UN itself
Riyad Mansour (R), Palestine’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, walked past a glaring Haley on Thursday at the UN in New York City
The UN General Assembly debated in advance of a nonbinding, symbolic vote condemning America’s decision to recognize Jerusalem (shown) as Israel’s capital and move its embassy there from Tel Aviv
President Donald Trump had already threatened a day earlier to cut aid funding to countries that vote for the measure, which Ambassador Nikki Haley vetoed Monday in a 14-1 tally.
He declared this month that the U.S. officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people, and that an embassy relocation was in the cards. That sparked a revolt among nations sympathetic to the cause of Palestinians, who regard Jerusalem as the home of some of Islam’s most holy sites.
Trump has long complained that the U.S. shoulder’s a disproportionate share of the UN’s financial burden, compared to some freeloading nations, and said Wednesday at the White House that America will vote with its wallet.
‘They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us,’ he fumed. ‘Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.’
Haley echoed those concerns, suggesting that even allies who vote against Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem are risking a financial cost.
Haley lectured her peers and said that ‘unlike’ in some other countries, the U.S. government is ‘answerable to its people’ and can’t spend money on failing institutions
‘They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us,’ Trump said Wednesday at the White House
‘The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation. We will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world’s largest contribution to the United Nations,’ she said.
‘And we will remember it when so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit.’
Haley threw jab after jab, saying that ‘the United States is by far the single largest contributor to the United Nations,’ and that ‘unlike in some UN member countries, the United States government is answerable to its people.’
‘We have an obligation to acknowledge when our political and financial capital is being poorly spent,’ she warned. ‘We have an obligation to demand more for our investment, and if our investment fails we have an obligation to spend our resources in more productive ways.’
She insisted that Trump’s decision pertaining to Jerusalem ‘does not prejudge any final status issues including Jerusalem’s boundaries.’
‘The decision does not preclude a two-state solution if the parties agree to that. The decision does nothing to harm peace efforts,’ she said.
The draft resolution the General Assembly considered on Thursday mirrored the vetoed Security Council measure, reaffirming that any decision on the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be rescinded.
It does not mention Trump’s decision but expresses ‘deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem.’
Diplomats expect strong support for the resolution – which is symbolic and nonbinding, despite the U.S. pressure to either abstain or vote against it.
A council diplomat said Canada, Hungary and the Czech Republic might bow to U.S. pressure and not support the draft resolution.
Haley on Monday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the embassy-move plan; all 14 other council nations voted ‘yes’
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing Haley wrote to other ambassadors that Trump, shown here with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would take disrespectful votes ‘personally’
He spoke after Haley warned countries on Tuesday that the President will take anti-America votes ‘personally.’
‘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.
‘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.’
On Twitter, Haley posted that ‘the U.S. will be taking names’ during the vote on Thursday at the 193-nation assembly.
Turkey and Yemen requested the emergency session on behalf of the Arab group of countries and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Egypt had put forward the draft at the Security Council, which was backed by all 14 other members in the vote on Monday.
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 posted on Twitter this week that ‘the US will be taking names’ during the vote on Thursday at the larger 193-nation assembly
Key allies including Britain and France are against Trump’s Israel move; pictured are French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and British Prime Minister Theresa May (right)
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 U.S. 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 continued 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 U.S. 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.