FILE – Security Council
CAIRO – 18 December 2017: Israel intensified pressures on U.N. Security Council (UNSC) members to hinder their adoption of a draft resolution calling on the U.S. to reverse recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, according to Israeli news site Walla.
Diplomatic efforts coincide with steps taken by the U.S. to veto the resolution before UNSC.
The UNSC will vote Monday on the draft resolution, which was submitted by Egypt, according to some diplomats.
Diplomats expect the U.S. to veto the resolution before the Security Council. The diplomats mentioned that the draft resolution, issued by Egypt on Saturday to the 15-member UNSC, has the support of many members.
To be adopted, nine members of the UNSC must agree on the resolution, while the U.S., France, UK, Russia or China must not veto the resolution.
The resolution affirms that any change to Jerusalem’s status has no legal effect and must be reversed, stressing that Jerusalem is an issue "to be resolved through negotiations." It also expresses "deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem," without specifically mentioning Trump's decision.
Breaking international consensus, Trump declared on December 8 that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and that the US embassy will be relocated there. After the decision, Arab foreign ministers agreed to seek a UNSC resolution against the move.
Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, "strongly condemned" the draft, dismissing it as an attempt by Palestinians "to reinvent history."
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