US fetes countries that didn’t vote to approve UN Jerusalem resolution
UNITED NATIONS, (MILLAT ONLINE):United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley hosted a reception Wednesday night, inviting those who had voted against or abstained from voting on an Arab resolution condemning the U.S. for officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon praised Haley’s leadership and called the US courageous.
Although the resolution is not legally binding, it is part of a global effort to push the Trump administration to rethink its decision.
In an embarrassing blow to the US president on the global stage, the U.N. General Assembly voted by 128 to nine to declare his controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “null and void.”
Togo, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Micronesia, Palau, Honduras and Guatemala joined U.S. and Israel in voting against the UN resolution so have all been invited to the special party.
Thirty-five countries, many in Africa and Latin America, abstained from the vote. Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Malawi, and several Caribbean and Pacific island nations all sat out of the vote.
Canada, Poland, Australia, and Mexico also abstained in what was perhaps linked to other political pressures from the US.
Prior to the vote, the Trump administration threatened to “take names” of countries and cut off humanitarian aid funding.
“For all these nations, they take our money and then vote against us. They take hundreds of millions of dollars, even billions of dollars and then they vote against us,” Trump said to members of his cabinet before the vote.
Ms Haley issued a stern warning the US would be “taking name” of any countries who supported the resolution condemning the actions of the Trump administration.
The U.N.envoy wrote to most of the 193 UN members states warning of possible retaliation, saying Trump was taking the issue personally,
“We’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, Haley said the U.S. move to halt aid to Pakistan was not connected to the South Asian country’s UN General Assembly vote last month opposing the United States on the issue of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
After last month’s overwhelming vote, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah hailed the UN vote as a “victory for Palestine.”
He said: “We will continue our efforts in the United Nations and at all international forums to put an end to this occupation, and to establish our Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Just days before the vote, the US used its veto power at the UN Security Council to block a similar measure.