US President’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as a capital of Israel caused a stir, the international community and the United Nations criticised this move of the presidential office. Despite all this, the US plays hardball at UN over Jerusalem vote.
Ahead of the UN General Assembly vote criticising the Trump administration’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the American embassy there, Nikki Haley sent a terse letter to dozens of countries. Donald Trump, pleased with his assertive ambassador, added that the US would cut funding to any country that supported the UN GA resolution.
There is no surprise that every session on Jerusalem was always a highly charged debate, and after Trump’s recognition, it will be even harder to find a consensus. Both President Trump and Ambassador Nicky Haley’s threat elevated the vote to a critique of his “American First” approach to foreign policy.
Meanwhile, the situation in the Middle East is getting worse. On Friday, 17 Palestinians were hurt in clashes in the West Bank after being hit with live and rubber-tipped bullets, as well as tear gas inhalation. Approximately 1,700 Palestinians took part in protests in the West Bank, throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at Israeli security forces. Some 2,000 took part in protests along the Gaza border.
The US position at UN over Jerusalem vote
In the General Assembly hall, many ambassadors decried the US tactic as bullying and blackmail,
“The Trump administration got to show its disregard for the UN, and a lot of countries got to signal their displeasure with Trump,”
said Richard Gowan, a UN expert with the European Council on Foreign Relations.
In the end, the US Ambassador Nicky Haley was left with a long list of names – 128 countries supported the resolution and only nine voted against it. Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Togo and Palau joined the US and Israel to reject the resolution.
