19 December 2017•Update: 19 December 2017
By Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi and Gulsen Topcu
ANKARA
Arab countries have decried the U.S. veto of a draft UN resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The veto came less than two weeks after Washington moved to recognize the holy city as Israel's capital and begin the process to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv -- the city where all other nations house their main diplomatic facilities.
Fourteen council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution that would have demanded Trump reverse course on the decision. The U.S. was the sole dissenting vote.
Egypt
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid regretted the U.S. veto in a written statement.
"Egypt is saddened by the veto of this important decision which heeds the conscience of the international community and openly rejects U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."
Abu Zeid noted that the Arab group in the UN will gather to assess the situation and discuss the steps to be taken for the protection of Jerusalem’s status.
Palestine
Palestine’s presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina condemned the U.S. veto, calling it a “mockery of the international community” and a concession to Israeli occupation and aggression, according to Palestine’s official news agency WAFA.
Abu Rudeina stressed that this veto would lead to further isolation of the U.S. and represents a provocation of the international community.
Palestinian group Hamas said in a written statement that Jerusalem will always remain the capital of Palestine, and U.S. and Israeli decisions would not change this fact.
The group, which rules the Gaza Strip, urged the international community and the Arab and Islamic world to act for the preservation of Jerusalem and its holy places, warning Israel not to take steps to change the city’s present status.
Kuwait
Kuwait’s parliament speaker Marzouk Ali Al-Ghanim hailed world opposition to the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
"This counter-stance against unilateral steps on Jerusalem's recognition as the capital of Israel shows that we are not alone, and our actual concern should be the free world,” he said in a statement.
He also thanked Egypt for the resolution it submitted to the UN Security Council, which is like an international referendum.
Qatar
Qatar’ Foreign Ministry said the support of 14 of the 15-member UN Security Council for the draft reflects “rejection of the international community to any procedures against Jerusalem”.
In a statement, the ministry expressed “support to voices calling on the Palestinians to head to gain support of the UN General Assembly after the failure of the Security Council to annul the American decision.”
It reiterated “Qatar’s constant and continuous stance in supporting the Palestinian cause and the resistance of the brotherly Palestinian people based on international legitimacy and the two-state solution.”
Meanwhile, Ali Karadaghi, secretary general of the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), described the U.S. veto on his Twitter account as ‘terror and a challenge for all countries’.
Jerusalem's status has long been considered a final status issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and Trump's decision is widely seen as undercutting that longstanding understanding.
East Jerusalem, which Palestinians are seeking as the capital of their state, was occupied by Israel in 1967.
