Netanyahu slams UN's Jerusalem vote as 'theater of the absurd'
News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Israel Hayom
December 22, 2017
Israel on Thursday lambasted a U.N. General Assembly vote declaring U.S. President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as "null and void," calling it "preposterous."
In Thursday's vote, 128 nations voted in favor of a resolution demanding the U.S. rescind its declaration, with nine members voting against it and 35 nations abstaining. Twenty-one nations were absent from the vote.
"Israel completely rejects this preposterous resolution. Jerusalem is our capital. Always was, always will be. But I do appreciate the fact that a growing number of countries refused to participate in this theater of the absurd," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"I appreciate that, and especially I want to again express our thanks to President Trump and Ambassador [Nikki] Haley, for their stalwart defense of Israel and their stalwart defense of the truth," he said in a statement issued on Thursday evening.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid also denounced the U.N.'s vote.
"The U.N. lost its last shred of dignity today. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, it always was and it always will be. No hypocritical vote will change that. The decision that was taken today will be wiped from the pages of history," he tweeted.
"I'm saddened to see our European friends bow to pressure and stand alongside supporters of terror and mass murder instead of standing beside the only true democracy in the Middle East."
Yisrael Beytenu leader Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman tweeted, "There is nothing new about the U.N. [move]. Thankfully, the U.S. remains a beacon of morality, shining a light in the darkness."
Kulanu leader Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said, "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, with or without the U.N.'s recognition. Thank you to the countries who stood by Israel in today's vote."
Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay said, "Jerusalem was our capital before the vote and it will remain our capital afterward. I recommend the United Nations focus on things it can change."
Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) tweeted, "Jerusalem is our eternal capital and we need no one's approval to reaffirm that."
Unlike U.N. Security Council resolutions, General Assembly votes are not legally binding, but they do serve as a barometer of international sentiment on key issues. As the assembly chose to denounce Washington's move, it further illustrated the Trump administration's isolation on the issue of Jerusalem.
The international community maintains that the status of the holy city must be determined as part of a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, welcomed the vote as "a victory for Palestine. We will continue our efforts in the United Nations and at all international forums to put an end to this occupation and to establish our Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital."
Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour called the vote a victory not only for the Palestinians but for the United Nations and international law, saying Haley "failed miserably" in persuading only seven countries aside from the U.S. and Israel to oppose the resolution.
"And they used unprecedented tactics, unheard of in the diplomatic work at the U.N., including blackmail and extortion," he said, referring to Trump's threat to cut foreign aid to nations that vote against the U.S.
Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar urged "all Palestinians, in Jerusalem, the West Bank and everywhere else, to stage a day of rage on Friday."
Senior Palestine Liberation Organization member Hanan Ashrawi said she was "extremely encouraged that the vast majority of the members of the United Nations General Assembly did not succumb to American threats and blackmail; they did not accept the Israeli insults being hurled at them, and they stood up for justice and for the rule of law and for what is right. They voted on the basis of principle."
She said that "128 countries told the U.S. and Israel that what they are doing is wrong and unacceptable and they voted for Jerusalem, they voted for the U.N. as an institution of integrity, they voted for the rule of law.
"The PLO will follow up on this, we are going to pursue our full membership in the U.N. We will also pursue membership in other international organizations affiliated with the U.N. and there is always the International Criminal Court that will hold the Israeli occupation accountable in all its manifestations. And, of course, I think that we will begin to look for alternatives in terms of achieving a just solution to this situation."
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said following the vote that he expected the Trump administration to "rescind without delay its unfortunate decision" to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
In comments on Twitter, Erdogan said he welcomed the "overwhelming support" for the resolution in the General Assembly, as it was "a clear international rejection" of the Trump administration's "thuggish intimidation."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed the statement, tweeting, "A resounding global NO to Trump regime's thuggish intimidation at #UN."
EDITOR’S NOTE:I hope thug Trump cuts off all aid to Turkey. That will give Erdogan something really to squawk about.
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