UN General Assembly denounces Trump’s Jerusalem decision

The UN General Assembly voted on Thursday to denounce US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

A total of 128 countries backed the nonbinding resolution calling for the US to rescind its Dec 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, nine voted against and 35 abstained.

Those voting in favor included the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council: China, France, Russia and the UK. The nine who voted against the resolution were the US, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo. Among the 35 abstaining were Canada and Mexico

On Wednesday, Trump warned he might cut financial aid to countries who voted in favor of the resolution.

"They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us," he said. "Well, we're watching those votes," he added. "Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care."

Prior to the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley echoed Trump's threat to withhold financial aid.

"The United States will remember this day, in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very right of exercising our right as a sovereign nation," she said.

"We will remember it when we are called upon once again to make the world's largest contribution to the United Nations. And we will remember when so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit."

The resolution "demanded" that all states comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the status of Jerusalem.

The 193-member Assembly stressed that Jerusalem "is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in line with relevant UN resolutions."

The Assembly also called on all countries to refrain from moving their embassies to Jerusalem, pursuant to Security Council resolution 478 adopted in 1980.

This followed a failed attempt by the Security Council on Monday to adopt a similar text reflecting regret among the body's members about "recent decisions regarding the status of Jerusalem", with a veto from the US, a permanent member of the Council.

The Assembly reiterated its call for the reversal of the negative trends that endanger the two-State solution. It urged greater international and regional efforts and support aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

wanglinyan@chinadailyusa.com