UN denounces US decision on Beit-ul-Moqaddas

The nonbinding resolution declaring US action on Beit-ul-Moqaddas “null and void” was approved 128-9 — a victory for the Palestinians. Amid Washington’s threats, 35 of the 193 UN member nations abstained and 21 were absent, AP reported.

The resolution reaffirmed what has been the United Nations’ stand on the holy city since 1967: That Beit-ul-Moqaddas final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Trump administration said the vote would have no effect on its plan to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Beit-ul-Moqaddas. 

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour called the vote a victory not only for the Palestinians but for the United Nations and international law, saying US Ambassador Nikki Haley “failed miserably” in persuading only several countries aside from the US and Israel to vote against the resolution.

“And they used unprecedented tactics, unheard of in the diplomatic work at the UN, including blackmail and extortion,” he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took to twitter to slam Trump’s threats to cut aid to countries that vote against his move on Beit-ul-Moqaddas, saying it shows his “contempt for democracy.” 

“Trump regime exposes contempt for democracy through its threats against those who dare resist its thuggish demands at the UN,” he said.

The United States and Israel had waged an intensive lobbying campaign against the measure, with Haley sending letters to over 180 countries warning that Washington would be taking names of those who voted against the US Trump went further, threatening a funding cutoff: “Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”

But in the end, major US aid recipients including Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and South Africa supported the resolution. Egypt received roughly $1.4 billion in US aid this year, and Jordan about $1.3 billion.

The nine voting “no” were the US, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, the Marshall Islands and Togo. Among the abstentions were Australia, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic and Mexico. The absent countries included Kenya, which was the fifth-largest recipient of US aid last year, Georgia and Ukraine, all of which have close US ties.

After the vote, Haley tweeted a photo naming the 65 nations that voted no, abstained or were absent, and said: “We appreciate these countries for not falling to the irresponsible ways of the UN.”

The US is scheduled to dispense $25.8 billion in foreign aid for 2018. Whether Trump follows through with his threat against those who voted “yes” remains to be seen.

But within hours, the Trump administration appeared to be backing away from its funding threats. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said cuts to countries that opposed the US are not a foregone conclusion.

The Palestinians and their supporters sought the General Assembly vote after the US on Monday vetoed a resolution supported by the 14 other UN Security Council members that would have required Trump to rescind his declaration on Beit-ul-Moqaddas.

Abbas rejects US peace plan 

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said Friday that he would “no longer accept” any peace plan proposed by the United States, dealing a preemptive blow to a fresh initiative expected by Washington next year.

“The United States has proven to be a dishonest mediator in the peace process and we will no longer accept any plan from it,” Abbas told a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, AFP reported.

Macron repeated his earlier condemnations of the US decision on Beit-ul-Moqaddas. “The Americans have marginalized themselves and I am trying to not do the same thing,” Macron said.

Abbas hit out at efforts by the US to intimidate countries ahead of the UNGA vote.

“I hope that the others will learn the lesson and understand that you cannot impose solutions by using money and trying to buy off countries,” he added in Paris.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the UN vote showed the “illegality” of Trump’s decision, urging the United States to withdraw it.