New York (December 9, 2017): United Nations Security Council members on Friday widely condemned Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that has led to deadly clashes across the occupied Palestinian territories.
Eight countries called for the emergency meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, as Palestinians protested across the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip against the US president’s decision throughout the day.
Several countries condemned the unilateral move by the US to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump, ignoring warnings from the international community, announced on Wednesday that the US was formally recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and would begin the process of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to the city.
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said Jerusalem “is perhaps the most emotionally charged and difficult subject” among the final status issues in the conflict.
“The United Nations has repeatedly declared that any unilateral decision that seeks to alter the character and status of Jerusalem or that may alter these long-standing principles could seriously undermine current peace efforts and may have repercussions across the region,” Mladenov said.
He added that he was “particularly concerned about the potential risk of a violent escalation” in response to the US decision.
Mladenov said the world was standing at a “critical moment in the long-running history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.
Riyad Mansour, the ambassador and permanent observer of Palestine at the UN, said the Trump administration has violated “Jerusalem’s legal, political and historic status and the Palestinian peoples’ rights and legitimate national aspirations”.
“The extremely regrettable announcement … has heightened tensions and risks the complete destabilisation of this volatile situation,” Mansour said.
He said the US decision “to reward Israel’s impunity” should disqualify it from any leadership role in efforts to reach a solution to the conflict.
The US decision does not change the tenets of international law and previous UN resolutions which state that Israel must end its occupation of East Jerusalem, Mansour said.
“The status of Jerusalem cannot be unilaterally altered or determined by any state and this decision by the US should be reconsidered and rescinded,” he said.
He called on the UNSC to condemn the US decision, adding that “there can be no just and lasting solution to the Palestine question without a just solution to the question of Jerusalem. Jerusalem has long been the heart of Palestine and always will be.”
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