More than 100 countries defied President Donald Trump and voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to withdraw its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “The result of the vote is as follows. In favor 128, against 9, abstentions 35. Draft resolution A/ES-10/L22 is adopted,” the General Assembly’s President announced.
During the course of the rare emergency session, US Ambassador to the world body Nikki Haley told the representatives of the 193-members General Assembly, that the United States will remember this day, in which the international community singled it out for simply exercising its right as a sovereign nation. Haley further asserted that Washington will remember this blatant attack on American independence when the international community comes calling on the United States for financial assistance and global influence – clearly echoing President Donald Trump who warned the international community not to vote against national decisions, threatening to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favor of the resolution. Ambassador Haley said, “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. 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. 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. 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, and this vote will be remembered,” he emphasized.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, in his address to the assembly, claimed the vote was “not because of any animosity towards the United States of America, but because of its decision,” which the Palestinian top diplomat said, “constitutes an aggression on the genuine and natural right of the Palestinian people to Jerusalem.” He said, “We meet today not because of any animosity towards the United States of America, but because of its decision which constitutes an aggression on the genuine and natural right of the Palestinian people to the city of Al Quds Al-Sharif and the Arab nation and all the Muslims and Christians of the world. An aggression on the status of Jerusalem which religious and humanitarian status that is exceptional and would like to confirm that the American decision will not impact the status and position of the holy city in any way whatsoever. Rather it naturally affects the status of the United States as a mediator of peace, because it has failed in the test of Jerusalem despite our warnings and the warnings of the entire world to take this test seriously,” the Palestinian top diplomat declared.
While the Palestinians adopted a somewhat diplomatic stance, in an effort to alleviate tension with Washington, Turkey has taken a more aggressive attitude toward the United States, accusing it of being an international bully. Cavusoglu said, “Before this meeting, a UN member state threatened all the other members. We were all asked to vote “no” or face the consequences. Some even threatened with development aid cut. Such an attitude is unacceptable. This is bullying and this chamber will not vote to do that. It is unethical to think that the words and dignity of member states are for sale. Let me put it in this way. We will not be intimidated. You can be strong but this doesn’t make you right,” he asserted. The comments by the Turkish Foreign Minister were aligned with an earlier statement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who condemned the United States for its warnings and said he hoped the world would teach Washington a lesson.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemned those who voted for the resolution as puppets pulled by the strings of their Palestinian puppet masters. Ambassador Danon stressed that while the United States was attacked for simply stating a fact, in which Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish state, the international community continues to adopt the Palestinian narrative of delusion.