UN mulls rejecting US Jerusalem move

> Draft resolution says Trump’s decision has no legal effect

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution affirming that any change to the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be reversed, in response to the US decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital.

Egypt circulated the draft on Saturday, and diplomats said the council could vote on the proposed measure as early as today.

Breaking with international consensus, US President Donald Trump this month announced that he would recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, sparking protests and strong condemnation.

The draft resolution obtained by AFP stresses that Jerusalem is an issue “to be resolved through negotiations” and expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem”, without specifically mentioning Trump’s move.

“Any decisions 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status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded,” it said.

Diplomats said they expected the US to use its veto power to block the measure while most, if not all, of the 14 other council members were expected to back it.

US Vice-President Mike Pence will visit Jerusalem on Wednesday, wading into the crisis over one of the most controversial issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel seized control of the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Middle East war and sees the whole of Jerusalem as its undivided capital. The Palestinians view the east as the capital of their future state.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon “strongly condemned” the draft, dismissing it as an attempt by the Palestinians “to reinvent history”.

“No vote or debate will change the clear reality that Jerusalem has and always will be the capital of Israel,” Danon said.

The draft resolution calls on all countries to refrain from opening embassies in Jerusalem, reflecting concerns that other governments could follow the US lead.

It demands that all member-states not recognise any actions that are contrary to UN resolutions on the city’s status. – AFP

REUTERSPIX A rescue worker shouts next to a Palestinian with a knife next to him after he was shot by Israeli border policemen near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday.