The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) welcomed on Thursday, December 21, the United Nations General Assembly resolution rejecting the US government’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying it was “a victory for the struggle for peace.”
Hadash MK Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint List, agreed that the passing of the resolution constituted “a slap in the face to the policies of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Panels in the hall of the UN General Assembly display the final tally in the vote on the resolution condemning US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, during the resumed 10th Emergency Special Session on Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, December 21, 2017. (Photo: UN)
Odeh said the vote was “a clear call by the international community for peace and for the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state whose capital is East Jerusalem.” According to Odeh “all of Netanyahu’s [recent] travels throughout the world are apparently being done to avoid the police interrogation room, because a large majority in the international diplomatic arena still believes that the Palestinians, like all other nations, deserve a place in the sun and self-determination.” “Tonight’s vote by the majority of the nations of the world against Trump’s declaration, despite the pressure and threats, is a diplomatic slap to Trump and Netanyahu and a clear call to the international community for peace and for the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” Odeh added.
The General Assembly adopted the motion rejecting US President Donald Trump’s December 6 decision by a vote of 128 for, 9 against, with 35 abstentions and 21 no-shows.
Trump had warned before the vote was held in the 193-nation assembly in New York that “we’re watching” and threatened reprisals against countries that would back the resolution which reaffirms that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations.
The resolution was sent to the General Assembly for a non-binding vote after it was initially vetoed by the United States at the Security Council on Monday, December 18, when all the other 14 council members voted in favor.
The text of the resolution expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,” and affirmed that “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, and in this regard, calls upon all States to refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem.”
