Don: Israel vote could cost foes

IT’S PERSONAL.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Wednesday that President Trump would take a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution criticizing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “personally.”

Haley (inset) defended her boss in a letter to many of the UN’s 193 member states.

She said the Trump administration is “simply asking that you acknowledge the historical friendship, partnership and support we have extended and respect our decision about our own embassy.”

The letter drew sharp criticism from the Turkish and Palestinian foreign ministers, who accused the U.S. of intimidation.

Trump issued his own threat, saying the U.S. could cut off funding to countries that approve the resolution.

“For all these nations, they take our money and then vote against us. They take hundreds of millions of dollars, even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us,” Trump said. “We’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”

Trump upended decades of American foreign policy and angered many world leaders earlier this month by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and vowing to relocate the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, the UN’s top human rights chief told his staff that he will not seek a second term, because “in the current geopolitical context, (it) might involve bending a knee in supplication, muting a statement of advocacy.”

Zeid Ra’ad Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights and a vocal Trump critic, will step down next summer, Foreign Policy reported.