On December 6, 2017 President Trump announced that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital. What followed this controversial announcement in the UN realm was a flurry of initiatives, including a draft resolution submitted to the Security Council by Egypt; a resolution submitted to the General Assembly by Yemen and Turkey; Israel's withdrawal form UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and President Trump's threat to cut funding from UNRWA (UN Relief and Work Agency responsible for Palestinian refugees). In the Security Council, the United States was forced to use its veto power to prevent a unanimous decision to support the draft resolution. This was the precise intention of the Palestinian delegation, which reportedly held a series of bilateral meetings with Council members to discuss the contours of a resolution that would be broadly acceptable to all members besides the United States. Indeed, widely consensual parameters in the draft – affirming that decisions vis-à-vis Jerusalem must comply with relevant resolutions of the Security Council, and calling for a reversal of trends imperiling the two-state solution – were skillfully balanced with references to "deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem"; assertions that actions that alter the status of Jerusalem are "null and void," and that all states should refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in Jerusalem. The art of compromise and dialogue with Security Council players thus enabled the Palestinians to achieve their objective and demonstrate poignantly the lack of international support for the American unilateral decision on Jerusalem.

---

Support Canada Free Press

---