The United States mission to the United Nations has invited the delegations of 64 UN General Assembly member states to a special “thank you” event, following Thursday’s vote denouncing American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
On Thursday, the UN General Assembly held an emergency session, called to deliberate on a draft resolution presented by Turkey and Yemen which condemns Israel for what it calls illegal “actions in Occupied East Jerusalem”, and chiding the US for its recognition of Jerusalemas Israel’s capital city.
The resolution states that “any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council.”
The resolution also called on the US not to establish its embassy or any other “diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem.” Nine of the General Assembly’s 193 member states voted against the resolution, including the United States, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.
Thirty-five states abstained, including Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Benin, Canada, Poland, Croatia, South Sudan, Uganda, Romania, Rwanda, Malawi, Lesotho, Latvia, Hungary, Colombia, Jamaica, Fiji, and the Czech Republic. An additional 21 states refrained from participating. The resolution passed with 128 votes in favor.
On Friday, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley invited representatives of the 8 other states which voted against the resolution to a special “thank you” reception, slated for Wednesday, January 3rd. Also invited are the 56 states which either cast votes to abstain, or refused to take part in the vote.
The vote Thursday comes just days after the UN Security Council voted on a similar measure, pushed by the Egyptian delegation, which currently holds one of the council’s 10 temporary seats. The US vetoed the measure, which won the backing of the council’s 14 other member states.
Before Thursday’s vote, President Donald Trump warned General Assembly member-states which receive American aid that the US would be “watching” which countries vote with the US, and which vote against it on the resolution.
“They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care,” he told reporters before the Cabinet meeting, according to Reuters.
