By a large majority, the United Nations condemned Thursday the US President's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
By a large majority, one hundred and twenty-eight countries against nine, the United Nations Organization (UN) condemned Thursday, December 21, the decision of US President Donald Trump, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Thirty-five countries have decided to abstain. The United States, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, Togo, Micronesia, Nauru, Palas and the Marshall Islands voted against this text, which responds to a Palestinian initiative.
In Ramallah, in the West Bank, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the vote on the UN resolution.
"This vote is a victory for Palestine," said Nabil Abu Rdainah. We will continue our efforts at the United Nations and in all international forums to end this occupation and to create our Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. "
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was satisfied with the number of countries that did not vote the resolution. "In Israel we reject this decision of the UN and respond with satisfaction to the large number of countries that did not vote in favor of this decision," he said in a statement.
"The United States will remember this day"
Prior to the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had threatened countries that would vote in favor of the resolution: "The United States will remember the day that saw them pillorize the General Assembly for the sole exercise of our sovereign country right. "
"We will remember when we are asked once again to make the largest (financial) contribution to the United Nations. And we will remember when many countries come to ask us, as they so often do, to pay even more and use our influence to their advantage. "
"We want rights and peace"
President Donald Trump, who announced his decision on Jerusalem on 6 December, took the lead on Wednesday. "They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us," he had ranted. Let them vote against us, we will save a lot, we do not care. "
Earlier, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki had called for support, denouncing the American ambassador's threat to "write down the names" of those among the hundred and ninety-three members who would vote in favor of the resolution.
"History records names, it remembers names, names of those who defend what is right and names of those who lie. Today we want rights and peace, "he said.