The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution affirming that any change to the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be reversed, in response to the US decision to recognize the city as Israel’s capital.
Egypt circulated the draft text on Saturday and diplomats said the council could vote on the proposed measure as early as today.
Breaking with international consensus, US President Donald Trump earlier this month announced that he would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, sparking protests and strong condemnation.
Photo: EPA
The draft resolution obtained by reporters says that Jerusalem is an issue “to be resolved through negotiations” and expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,” without mentioning Trump’s move.
“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status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded,” it said.
Diplomats said they expected the US to use its veto power to block the measure while most, if not all, of the 14 other council members were expected to back it.
US Vice President Mike Pence is to visit Jerusalem on Wednesday, wading into the crisis over one of the most controversial issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel seized control of the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Middle East war and sees the whole of Jerusalem as its undivided capital.
The Palestinians view the east as the capital of their future state.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon “strongly condemned” the draft, dismissing it as an attempt by the Palestinians “to reinvent history.”
“No vote or debate will change the clear reality that Jerusalem has and always will be the capital of Israel,” Danon said in a statement.
The draft resolution calls on all countries to refrain from opening embassies in Jerusalem, reflecting concerns that other governments could follow the US’ lead.
It demands that all member-states not recognize any actions that are contrary to UN resolutions on the status of the city.
Several UN resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from territory seized during the 1967 war and have reaffirmed the need to end the occupation of that land.
The Palestinians had sought a toughly worded draft resolution that would have directly called on the US to scrap its decision.
However, some US allies on the council, such as Britain, France, Egypt, Japan and Ukraine, were reluctant to be too hard-hitting and insisted that the proposed measure should reaffirm the position enshrined in current resolutions, diplomats said.
Backed by Muslim countries, the Palestinians are expected to turn to the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution rejecting the US decision, if, as expected, the measure is vetoed by the US at the council.
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