US Faces Complete Humiliation As UN Rejects “Doofus” Trump’s Recognition Of Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital

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India joined 128 nations in voting in favour of declaring US’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital ‘null and void’.

WASHINGTON – The US faced complete isolation and humiliation in the UN General Assembly on Thursday as the world body took up for voting a draft resolution criticising President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, bucking an international consensus lasting decades.

The General Assembly adopted the resolution with 128 countries voting in favour, nine against and 35 abstaining, including “boneless” Canada.

Those who voted against Trump’s move also disregarded his threat of cutting aid to countries that backed the draft resolution and called out the US president for “bullying”.

Trump’s threat came a day after his ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the US will be “taking names” as “we don’t expect those we’ve helped to target us”. She had just vetoed to defeat a proposed resolution in the Security Council asking America to reverse its decision.

India was among the countries that voted in favour of draft resolution. It had earlier said its position on Palestine is “independent and consistent” and that “it is shaped by our views and interests, and not determined by any third country”.

But diplomatic sources said it was a tough call, in view of India’s growing proximity to the US and Israel, whose prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting India in January.

The resolution, which is non-binding, is likely to go through, given the overwhelming support a similar resolution received in the UN Security Council on Monday — 14 of its 15 members, including allies France, Britain and Italy, voted in favour of the resolution which failed only because the US vetoed it.

However, there are no veto powers in the General Assembly.

On Wednesday, Trump had said: “Let them vote against us… We’ll save a lot. We don’t care. But this isn’t like it used to be where they could vote against you and then you pay them hundreds of millions of dollars.

Haley echoed the sentiment in remarks on the floor of the general assembly. “When we make generous contributions to the UN, we also have a legitimate expectation that our good will is recognized and respected. When a nation is singled out for attack in this organisation, that nation is disrespected. What’s more, that nation is asked to pay for the ‘privilege’ of being disrespected.”

The draft resolution, which has been moved by Turkey and Yemen and co-sponsored by Iran, Pakistan and other countries, cited past Security Council resolutions to say “that all states comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the holy city of Jerusalem, and not to recognise any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions”. It’s similar in nature and texture to the resolution vetoed on Monday, which was moved by Egypt.

“United States should decide whether to stand with the world or an occupying force which is the reason for instability and chaos in the Middle East,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi said in a statement. “Pakistan is among the countries which have co-sponsored this resolution.”

Pakistan is already under notice from the United States for not doing enough on counter-terrorism, and its co-sponsorship of the Jerusalem vote is unlikely to go down well in the White House.

“As you consider your vote, I encourage you to know the president and the US take this vote personally,” Haley said in a letter to UN member nations ahead of the General Assembly vote. “The president will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those who voted against us.”