The United States (US) vetoed a draft United Nations resolution rejecting US 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 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.
US ally Britain however is in favour of the Egyptian-drafted Security Council resolution on the status of Jerusalem, said a British envoy to the United Nations on Monday.
“The United Kingdom will vote in favour of the Egyptian text on Jerusalem because it’s in line with our long-standing position on Jerusalem, it’s in line with previous Security Council resolutions,” Xinhua quoted Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador to the United Nations, as saying.
Rycroft said his country believes that Jerusalem is a final-status issue and that Jerusalem should be a shared capital for Israelis and Palestinians. The British embassy in Israel will remain in Tel Aviv, he added.
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measure asserting that any decisions on the status of Jerusalem “have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded”.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. 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.
The US along with Britain, China, France and, Russia can veto any resolution presented to the council, which requires nine votes for adoption.
