The United Nations Security Council is due to vote Monday on a draft resolution rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The United States is one of the five permanent members of the council that hold veto rights, meaning the resolution drafted by Egypt is not likely to pass.
The text of the resolution expresses “deep regret” at Trump’s announcement earlier this month both recognizing Jerusalem and starting the process of moving the U.S. embassy to the city from Tel Aviv.
“Any decision 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status, or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded,” the draft states.
Randolph-Macon College history professor Michael Fischbach told VOA that Trump’s decision overturned decades of U.S. policy as well as what had been “global consensus” against setting Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
“Since ’67 Israel has controlled the entire city, but the international community there’s been a consensus that until the Arab-Israeli conflict is resolved finally and peacefully that no country wants to prejudice the outcome of what’s going to happen to Jerusalem because the original U.N. decision was that it would be held in an international zone,” Fischbach said.
Trump said his decision is a “recognition of reality” that Jerusalem is not only the historic capital of the Jewish people but also the capital of modern Israel. Israeli leaders welcomed his actions, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said having Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is the “foundation of peace.”
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last week that his side will no longer accept a U.S. role in the peace process. He spoke at a gathering of Arab leaders where many others condemned Trump’s decision as unlawful.
The European Union reiterated that its position is that a realistic resolution between the Israelis and Palestinians is a two-state setup with Jerusalem as the capital of both.
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