UN Security Council to discuss resolution on Jerusalem

By Hakan Copur

WASHINGTON

The United Nations Security Council will discuss on Monday a draft resolution opposing unilateral change in the status of Jerusalem, Turkish foreign ministry sources said Sunday.

The latest U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is against the related resolutions of UN and thus is invalid, the draft resolution says.

According to Turkish foreign ministry sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, the draft resolution was proposed by Palestine and will reportedly be submitted to the council by Egypt.

The draft resolution will refer to the current UN resolutions on the status of Jerusalem and will also call on countries to not to move their embassies to Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, a UN statement said: "The abiding position of the United Nations on Jerusalem was that the city remained a final status issue to be determined through a comprehensive, just and lasting solution -- to be negotiated between the two sides concerned -- on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions and other agreements."

Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov briefed Council members during a special meeting called in the wake of President Donald Trump’s announcement.

Mladenov said: "Although the announcement had been widely welcomed in Israel, it had caused much anger among Palestinians and anxiety across the Middle East."

However, it is unlikely that any resolution would pass the Security Council, where the U.S. is one of five permanent members with a veto.

If it is vetoed there, the issue will be taken to the UN General Assembly for the annulment of the decision.

On Dec. 6, Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, sparking angry demonstrations in many Muslim countries and worldwide condemnation.

Rebuffing the move, an extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul this week declared East Jerusalem to be Palestine’s capital.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.