The United Nations body’s debate and vote highlighted for a second time in a week the international isolation of the United States over the Jerusalem issue
The United Nations general assembly has delivered a stinging rebuke to Donald Trump, voting by a huge majority to reject his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The vote came after a redoubling of threats by Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, who said that Washington would remember which countries “disrespected” America by voting against it.
Despite the warning, 128 members voted on Thursday in favour of the resolution supporting the longstanding international consensus that the status of Jerusalem – which is claimed as a capital by both Israel and the Palestinians – can only be settled as an agreed final issue in a peace deal. Countries which voted for the resolution included major recipients of US aid such as Egypt, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Although largely symbolic, the vote in emergency session of the world body had been the focus of days of furious diplomacy by both the Trump administration and Israel, including Trump’s threat to cut US funding to countries that did not back the US recognition.
But only nine states – including the United States and Israel –voted against the resolution. The other countries which supported Washington were Togo, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands, Guatemala and Honduras.
Play Video 1:03 'We will remember this’: US slams UN Jerusalem vote – video
Twenty-two of the 28 EU countries voted for the resolution, including the UK and France. Germany – which in the past has abstained on measures relating to Israel – also voted in favour.
Thirty-five countries abstained, including five EU states, and other US allies including Australia, Canada, Colombia and Mexico. Ambassadors from several abstaining countries, including Mexico, used their time on the podium to criticise Trump’s unilateral move.
Another 21 delegations were absent from the vote, suggesting the Trump’s warning over funding cuts and Israel’s lobbying may have had some effect.
While support for the resolution was somewhat less than Palestinian officials had hoped, the meagre tally of just nine votes in support of the US and Israeli position was a serious diplomatic blow for Trump.
Immediately after the vote the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, described the result as a “victory for Palestine”. The Palestinians’ UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, described the result as a “massive setback” for the US.
“They made it about them,” Mansour told AFP. “They did not make it about Jerusalem, so when you make it about them and to only be able to get nine votes to say ‘no’ to it, I think it was a complete failure for their campaign.”
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected the UN vote out of hand.
“Israel thanks President Trump for his unequivocal position in favour of Jerusalem and thanks the countries that voted together with Israel, together with the truth,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
Trump threatens to cut aid to countries over UN Jerusalem vote Read more
Speaking to the assembly before the vote, Haley – who earlier in the week told members that the US “would be taking names” – returned to the offensive.
“I must also say today: when we make generous contributions to the UN, we also have expectation that we will be respected,” she said. “What’s more, we are being asked to pay for the dubious privileges of being disrespected.”
Haley added: “If our investment fails, we have an obligation to spend our investment in other ways … The United States will remember this day.”
Q&A Why is recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital so contentious? Show Hide Of all the issues at the heart of the enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, none is as sensitive as the status of Jerusalem. The holy city has been at the centre of peace-making efforts for decades. Seventy years ago, when the UN voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Jerusalem was defined as a separate entity under international supervision. In the war of 1948 it was divided, like Berlin in the cold war, into western and eastern sectors under Israeli and Jordanian control respectively. Nineteen years later, in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side, expanded the city’s boundaries and annexed it – an act that was never recognised internationally. Israel routinely describes the city, with its Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy places, as its “united and eternal” capital. For their part, the Palestinians say East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future independent Palestinian state. The unequivocal international view, accepted by all previous US administrations, is that the city’s status must be addressed in peace negotiations. Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital puts the US out of step with the rest of the world, and legitimises Israeli settlement-building in the east – considered illegal under international law. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP
In his own speech Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said UN members who backed the resolution were being manipulated. “You are like puppets pulled by your Palestinian masters,” he told the session.
While Thursday’s resolution was in support of existing UN resolutions on Jerusalem and the peace process, the clumsy intervention by Trump and Haley also made the vote a referendum on Trump’s often unilateral and abrasive foreign policy.
The debate and vote highlighted for a second time in a week the international isolation of the United States over the Jerusalem issue, following a similar vote in the security council on Tuesday in which it was outnumbered 14-1.
Trump's bullying and bluster on Jerusalem is bad news for the UN | Patrick Wintour Read more
The threatening US posture, which had been denounced as both counter-productive and “bullying”, only seemed to have hardened the resolve of countries in opposing Trump’s 6 December move.
The resolution, co-sponsored by Turkey and Yemen, called Trump’s recognition “null and void” and reaffirmed 10 security council resolutions on Jerusalem, dating back to 1967, including requirements that the city’s final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
It also “demands that all states comply with security council resolutions regarding the holy city of Jerusalem, and not to recognise any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions”.
Earlier on Thursday, as it had become clear that the US and Israel would be heavily defeated, Netanyahu preemptively denounced the vote calling the UN a “house of lies”.
“The state of Israel rejects this vote outright,” Netanyahu said. “Jerusalem is our capital, we will continue to build there and additional embassies will move to Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, whether or not the UN recognises this. It took 70 years for the United States to formally recognise this, and it will take years for the UN to do the same.”
Michael Oren, Israel’s deputy minister for diplomacy, called for Israel to cut its ties with the UN and expel the organisation from its Jerusalem offices.
“We must evict the UN from the scenic Governor’s House, where its bloated staff does nothing, and give this historic site to a school, a hospital or – best yet – a new US embassy.”
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu denounces United Nation as ‘house of lies’, amid last ditch efforts by US and Israel to head off opposition
Donald Trump’s threat to cut US funding to countries that oppose his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in a UN vote on Thursday has set the scene for confrontation with countries already bridling over the president’s approach.
Trump's bullying and bluster on Jerusalem is bad news for the UN | Patrick Wintour Read more
Amid accusations of bullying and blackmail, the US and Israel have continued their furious efforts to persuade countries to back Trump’s position, amid predictions that more than 150 of the 193 countries in the general assembly could vote against the US.
Trump made his threat to cut US funding on Wednesday as he gave his wholehearted support to his UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, who had sent members a letter warning that the US would be “taking names” of those who opposed it.
The draft resolution reaffirms 10 security council resolutions on Jerusalem, dating back to 1967, including requirements that the city’s final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
It also “demands that all states comply with security council resolutions regarding the holy city of Jerusalem, and not to recognise any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions”.
Play Video 0:50 Trump on UN Jerusalem vote: 'we're watching your votes' – video
In an indication of the scale of defeat anticipated, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, launched a pre-emptive attack denouncing the UN as a “house of lies” on Thursday morning.
“The state of Israel rejects this vote outright,” Netanyahu said. “Jerusalem is our capital, we will continue to build there and additional embassies will move to Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, whether or not the UN recognises this. It took 70 years for the United States to formally recognise this, and it will take years for the UN to do the same.”
The Israeli foreign ministry had earlier described the country’s frantic diplomatic efforts as “very vast”.
Thursday’s emergency general assembly session is as much a vote on the US’s claim to international leadership under Trump as on the fraught issue of Jerusalem.
Q&A Why is recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital so contentious? Show Hide Of all the issues at the heart of the enduring conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, none is as sensitive as the status of Jerusalem. The holy city has been at the centre of peace-making efforts for decades. Seventy years ago, when the UN voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Jerusalem was defined as a separate entity under international supervision. In the war of 1948 it was divided, like Berlin in the cold war, into western and eastern sectors under Israeli and Jordanian control respectively. Nineteen years later, in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side, expanded the city’s boundaries and annexed it – an act that was never recognised internationally. Israel routinely describes the city, with its Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy places, as its “united and eternal” capital. For their part, the Palestinians say East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future independent Palestinian state. The unequivocal international view, accepted by all previous US administrations, is that the city’s status must be addressed in peace negotiations. Recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital puts the US out of step with the rest of the world, and legitimises Israeli settlement-building in the east – considered illegal under international law. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP
In a sign of the uphill struggle the US and Israel face, King Salman of Saudi Arabia – a country frequently held up as the model for warming relations in the Arab world with Israel – announced he continued to support the idea of East Jerusalem as a future capital of a Palestinian state.
While Trump’s threat was seen in the Middle East – including Israel – as being aimed at US allies such as Jordan and Egypt, who each receive more than $1bn in American aid and are expected to vote against the US, observers are sceptical whether Trump could follow through on his threat.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed the hope that the world would teach “a good lesson” to the US, adding that Trump could not buy Turkey’s vote “with your dollars”.
“We are expecting big numbers supporting the resolution,” one Palestinian official who has been tracking the votes said on Thursday morning. “Perhaps somewhere around 160 in favour. What we are hearing is that Nikki Haley’s letter has had a very good impact for us.”
Trump went further than Haley on Wednesday, saying Americans were tired of being taken advantage of. “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. We’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us.”
Supporters of the resolution expect Canada to vote with the US and Israel, and there has been speculation that Australia might abstain. A UN diplomat said Hungary and the Czech Republic might also bow to US pressure.
Diplomats expressed their anger at the Trump administration’s tactics. “No honourable state would bow to such pressure,” said Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. “The world has changed. The belief that ‘I am strong therefore I am right’ has changed. The world today is revolting against injustices.”
Among other countries to have been critical of Trump and Haley’s comments is Bolivia, which has a security council seat. “The first name that she should write down is Bolivia,” its UN ambassador, Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz, said of Haley’s message. “We regret the arrogance and disrespect to the sovereign decision of member states and to multilateralism.”
Trump’s comments have also attracted criticism in the US. Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, tweeted: “Our government should not use its leadership at the UN to bully/blackmail other nations that stand for religious liberty and justice in Jerusalem. Justice is a core value of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.”
Israel has been trying to garner support for the US’s stance, with its deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, saying that both the US and Israel are making “immense efforts” to block Thursday’s resolution.
Despite the tenor of the Trump administration’s public comments over the president’s recognition of Jerusalem, behind the scenes there has been a recognition that the unpopularity of the move – which has led to a Palestinian refusal to meet US peace mediators – will necessitate a cooling-off period, according to a senior US official.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Haley's warning: "The United States will remember this day"
The UN General Assembly has decisively backed a resolution effectively calling on the US to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The text says that any decisions regarding the status of the city are "null and void" and must be cancelled.
The non-binding resolution was approved by 128 states, with 35 abstaining and nine others voting against.
It came after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut financial aid to those who backed the resolution.
Following the vote, state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US was exploring "various options" and no decisions had yet been made.
How did UN members vote?
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
Those voting in favour included the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia and the UK) as well as key US allies in the Muslim world
There were 21 countries who did not turn up for the vote.
Read more: How did your country vote?
What is so contentious about Jerusalem's status?
The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of Israel's conflict with the Palestinians.
Israel occupied the east of the city in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the entire city as its indivisible capital.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Why the city of Jerusalem matters
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state and its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries currently maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. However, President Trump has told the US state department to start work on moving the US embassy.
What does the UN resolution say?
The 193-member UN General Assembly held the rare emergency special session at the request of Arab and Muslim states, who condemned Mr Trump's decision to reverse decades of US policy earlier this month.
The Palestinians called for the meeting after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution that was similar to the text approved on Thursday.
The text put forward by Turkey and Yemen does not mention the US, but expresses "deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem".
It also says "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".
What do Israel and the Palestinians say?
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to reject the results of the vote, calling the UN a "house of lies".
Afterwards he said in a statement: "Israel thanks President Trump for his unequivocal position in favour of Jerusalem and thanks those countries that voted alongside Israel, alongside the truth."
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the vote "a victory for Palestine".
How does the US see it?
In a speech before the vote, US permanent representative Nikki Haley stressed that the US decision did not prejudge any final status issues, and did not preclude a two-state solution if the parties agreed to that.
"The United States will remember this day, on which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation," she said.
"America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. That is what the American people want us to do. And it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Trump: "We're watching those votes"
On Wednesday, Mr Trump warned he might cut financial aid to states who voted in favour 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."
Will Trump act in retaliation?
Analysis by Sebastian Usher, BBC Arab affairs analyst
The result of the UN General Assembly vote was inevitable: the US knew that the majority of states would vote for the resolution. But there may have been slightly more abstentions and votes against than had been expected - which will be some comfort to the Trump administration.
There's little surprise in the countries that voted against - the likes of Micronesia, Nauru and Togo had nothing to gain from voting against the interests of the US, which helps support them.
Canada, Mexico and Poland were amongst those that abstained, in a move that will do nothing to harm their relations with the US.
The votes for the resolution from powerful US allies, such as France, Germany and the UK, could be seen as a slap in the face for President Trump - but all would argue that they simply voted in line with the existing status quo at the UN. There was no pressing reason for them to switch from this stance.
But the real test of the vote will be whether the Trump administration acts on its threats to reconsider financial aid to some of those who backed the resolution. Key, too, will be whether the resolution will give fresh impetus to the protests against the US decision that have been going on ever since it was announced, but have yet to really catch fire.
