Assembly votes to
condemn Trump's
Jerusalem decision
CNN
59 mins ago
Defying Trump,
U.N. General
Assembly
Condemns U.S. Decree on Jerusalem
U.N. General
Assembly
Condemns U.S. Decree on Jerusalem
New York Times
2 mins ago
UN Jerusalem vote
results: 128
countries vote in
favor of resolution rejecting Trump's Jerusalem decision
results: 128
countries vote in
favor of resolution rejecting Trump's Jerusalem decision
CBS News
1 hour ago
UN General Assembly votes to condemn Trump's Jerusalem decision ...
www.cnn.com/2017/12/21/politics/haley-un-jerusalem/index.html
Despite Haley threat, UN votes to condemn Trump's Jerusalem decision
(CNN)The
United Nations voted overwhelmingly to condemn President Donald Trump's
decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel despite
threats from the US to pull funding from the world body.
Some
128 countries voted for the resolution, while nine voted "no," and 35
nations abstained, including Canada, Mexico and Australia.
The
vote came after US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley issued a direct
threat, saying that the US will think twice about funding the world body
if it voted to condemn Trump's decision.
"The
United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for
attack in this assembly," Haley said. "We will remember it when we are
called upon to once again make the world's largest contribution" to the
UN and when other member nations ask Washington "to pay even more and to
use our influence for their benefit."
Haley said the US will put its embassy in Jerusalem regardless of the vote.
"That
is what the American people want us to do and it is the right thing to
do," Haley said. "This vote will make a difference in how Americans look
at the UN," she said. "And this vote will be remembered."
Haley's
remarks followed a threat from Trump himself, who mentioned the UN vote
at a Wednesday Cabinet meeting. "We're watching those votes," the
President said. "Let them vote against us, we'll save a lot. We don't
care."
Few countries seemed cowed,
as nation after nation blasted the US at the emergency session of the UN
General Assembly, condemning the Jerusalem decision as illegal,
destabilizing, and a violation of international law.
Haley's
stance also provoked a fiery tweet from John Brennan, who served as CIA
director under President Obama: "Trump Admin threat to retaliate
against nations that exercise sovereign right in UN to oppose US
position on Jerusalem is beyond outrageous. Shows @realDonaldTrump
expects blind loyalty and subservience from everyone—qualities usually
found in narcissistic, vengeful autocrats."
The US was joined in its
"no" vote by Israel and a slew of small nations, including Micronesia,
Nauru, Togo and Tonga, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Guatemala and
Honduras.
Other abstainers included the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Croatia and South Sudan.
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump and the countries that
abstained in a statement issued shortly after the vote.
"Israel
rejects the decision of the United Nations and, at the same time, we
show gratitude to the high number of countries that abstained from this
resolution," Netanyahu said. "Israel thanks President Trump on his
unequivocal position in favor of Jerusalem and thanks other countries
that voted together with Israel, together with the truth."
In
the aftermath, Haley's office said the support the US did get counted
as a victory of sorts, pointing out that nine countries voted against,
35 countries abstained, and 21 were absent.
"While
the resolution passed, the vote breakdown tells a different story," a
spokesman for the US mission said. "It's clear that many countries
prioritized their relationship with the United States over an
unproductive attempt to isolate us for a decision that was our sovereign
right to make."
Before the vote, at least one world leader took the time to call out Trump directly.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a self-styled leader of the greater
Muslim world, blasted the President during a speech in Ankara on
Thursday.
"Mr. Trump, you cannot buy Turkey's democratic free will with your dollars, our decision is clear," Erdogan thundered.
"What
is the cradle of democracy doing," Erdogan said. "They are looking for
people they can buy with their dollars." And he issued an appeal to
other world leaders, saying, "do not, for the sake of a few dollars,
sell off your democratic free will."
State
Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the US would "explore
various options" following the UN vote. Nauert said the White House and
NSC told the State Department on Thursday afternoon that "the
President's foreign policy team has been empowered to explore various
options going forward with other nations, however no decisions have been
made."
Nauert also said, "the UN
vote is really not the only factor the administration would take into
consideration in dealing with our foreign relations."
But
at least one UN analyst said that the US threats about funding had an
element of political theater about them, noting it would be hard for the
US to pull support from countries such as Yemen, Pakistan or
Afghanistan, and that the threats weren't likely to sway votes.
On
issues relating to Palestinians, the US and Israel always either find
themselves in a minority, or with a handful of other friends like the
Marshall Islands in the face of overwhelming majorities in the General
Assembly, said Richard Gowan, a New York-based UN expert at the European
Council on Foreign Relations.
And despite the threats from Trump, "There's safety in numbers for most members of the UN," Gowan said.
"Smaller
countries, poorer countries may get a little nervous when they hear the
President's rhetoric," said Gowan, "but they will also gain confidence
that all the big members of the Arab bloc are pretty much guaranteed to
vote against the US position, as well as the Europeans."
US
officials say the decision to recognize Jerusalem and move the US
embassy there from Tel Aviv reflects the basic reality. Israel's seat of
government sits in Jerusalem, say US officials who add that their
decision has no bearing on a final resolution of the conflict between
Israelis and Palestinians, or on the fate of holy sites of the world's
three largest faiths.
The fate of
Jerusalem is so fraught, however, that it is considered a "final status"
issue, only to be decided at the end of Israeli-Palestinian peace
talks. No country bases their diplomatic mission in Jerusalem as a
result.
Apart from Israel, none of
the US' closest allies spoke before the vote. "No General Assembly
resolution will ever drive us from Jerusalem," said Israel's Ambassador
to the UN, Danny Danon. "The United States simply stated a fact. They
officially declared what has always been true. Jerusalem always has been
and always will be the capital of Israel."
"Those
who support this resolution are like puppets," Danon said, "puppets
controlled by the strings of your Palestinian masters."
Otherwise,
speaker after speaker at the UN emphasized US isolation, with the
Palestinian representative declaring that the decision destroyed
Washington's ability to act as a mediator in peace talks and left it
with few allies by its side.
"What
does this decision serve?" asked Ambassador Riyad Mansour. "It serves
the Israeli government in implementing its colonial plans. It serves the
powers of extremism ... Does the United States not wonder why it stands
isolated," Mansour asked, "and why even its closest allies couldn't
turn a blind eye to this decision?"
"The
world is not for sale," said Venezuela's representative to the UN,
Samuel Moncada Acosta, "and your threats imperil global peace."
"This
decision is an outrageous assault to all universal values," Turkey's
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. "This is bullying," he said of
the US approach. "We will not be intimated." And addressing the US
directly, he added, "you can be strong, but this doesn't make you
right."
Maleeha Lodi, the Pakistani
representative to the UN, said, "we regret and reject" the decision.
"We must uphold the prevalent and time-honored norms, both legal and
moral," she said. The world "cannot and will not be complicit in any
illegal activity."
Turkey
co-sponsored with Yemen the draft resolution which calls on all
countries to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.
Any decision that alters the character, status or demographic
composition of Jerusalem should "have no legal effect, are null and void
and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the
Security Council," it reads.
Some
polling counters Haley's claim that the decision to move the embassy
reflects the will of the US people. A University of Maryland Critical
Issues poll released December 1 found that 63% of Americans oppose
moving the embassy to Jerusalem, including 44% of Republicans. The
pollsters questioned 2,000 people and had a margin of error of 2.19%.
A
December 13 Monmouth University poll that found Trump at record low
approval ratings also found that 39% of Americans thought moving the
embassy to Jerusalem was a bad idea, while only 23% thought it was a
good idea. Some 51% of respondents said it would lead to greater
regional instability, while 10% said it would make the region more
stable.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the fact Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke at the UN.
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