A United Nations Security Council voted against the United States’ decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Reuters reported. The United States was the only member nation to use its veto against the resolution. The Egyptian-drafted resolution expressed “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem” but did not name the Donald Trump administration.
United States President Donald Trump overturned decades of US policy towards the West Asian region and formally recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 7. Trump also said the US will move its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley described the resolution as an “an insult” that would not be forgotten. “The United States will not be told by any country where we can put our embassy,” Haley said. “It is scandalous to say we are putting back peace efforts.”
“The fact that this veto is being done in defence of American sovereignty and in defence of America’s role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us; it should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the security council.”
A spokesperson for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said the US veto was “unacceptable and threatens the stability of the international community because it disrespects it”, The Guardian reported.
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel seized eastern Jerusalem and had declared the entire city its capital. The city’s status has been disputed since then.
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