A statement by Turkey’s foreign ministry says US veto of UN resolution on Jerusalem reveals Washington has lost objectivity

The United Nations Security Council resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could not be adopted despite 14 other Council members supporting it.

The United States on Monday vetoed a draft UN resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, after all 14 other Security Council members backed the measure.

The veto cast by US Ambassador Nikki Haley torpedoed the resolution but highlighted Washington’s isolation over Trump’s announcement that the US embassy will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, effectively ignoring Palestinian claims on the city and triggering protests around the Muslim world.

Key US allies Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Ukraine were among the 14 countries in the 15-member council that backed the measure asserting that any decisions on the status of Jerusalem “have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded.”

“The United States will not be told by any country where we can put our embassy,” Haley told the council after the veto.

Slamming the resolution as an “insult”, she said, “What we witnessed here today in the Security Council is an insult. It won’t be forgotten.” She described the measure as “one more example of the United Nations doing more harm than good in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Palestinians slam US move

The Palestinian government slammed the US veto as “unacceptable.”

A spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said the veto was “unacceptable and threatens the stability of the international community because it disrespects it.”

Nabil Abu Rudeina said that the support for the resolution, which included US allies France, Italy and Japan, “showed the (American) isolation. The international community must work now to protect the Palestinian people.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately thanked Haley for her stance.

“Thank you, Ambassador Haley,” he posted on his official Twitter account. “Truth defeated lies. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you, Nikki Haley.”

Other measures

Earlier on Monday, the Palestinians said that they will seek United Nations General Assembly support if the US vetoed UNSC resolution.

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki said they would seek support at the General Assembly if the US ambassador Nikki Haley exercises Washington’s veto.

The UN General Assembly is expected to hold a plenary session on Tuesday, including a discussion on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

Egypt put forward the draft resolution which insists that Jerusalem is an issue “to be resolved through negotiations” between Israel and the Palestinians and expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem”, without specifically mentioning Trump’s move.

Pence to visit the holy city

US Vice President Mike Pence will visit Jerusalem on Wednesday, wading into the crisis over one of the most controversial issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has scrapped a meeting with Pence in protest at the Jerusalem announcement, and will instead head to Saudi Arabia to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent state. East Jerusalem was which Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move never recognised internationally.

Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal capital and wants all embassies based there.

The draft resolution had included a call on all countries to refrain from opening embassies in Jerusalem, reflecting concerns that other governments could follow the US lead.

It demanded that all member-states not recognise any actions that are contrary to UN resolutions on the status of the city.