The United Nations Security Council is considering a draft resolution against the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The resolution, drafted by Egypt and circulated among the Security Council’s 15 members, does not directly mention the United States or President Trump, who moved last week to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city.
According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, the document will be a response to the decision taken this month by the US administration headed by President Donald Trump.
Media reports confirm that the resolution has wide support on the council, and the body could vote as soon as Monday or Tuesday, on the matter. It would need at least nine votes to pass. A veto from the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Russia or China would effectively kill the resolution.
The resolution “affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council,” according to Reuters.
Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, last week, reversed seven decades of U.S. foreign policy and drew a swift rebuke from Arab and Muslim-majority countries, who warned that the move could undermine stability in the region.
The UN Security Council began an emergency meeting on Trump’s decision. The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said that the United Nations has done much more harm to peace in the Middle East than progress in any settlement. On Friday, December 8, the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called on the United States to rescind their decision on the status of Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel “historic”, while Turkey condemned this decision and called it irresponsible.
The international community has long declined to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and countries have stationed their embassies in Tel Aviv. Trump also announced, last week, that he would direct the State Department to begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, though doing so will likely take years.
