Islam21c Articulating Islam in the 21st Century
In the US’ awkward desperation to thwart today’s UN General Assembly vote on a resolution against Trump’s provocative claim of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley threatened the world that Donald Trump “will be watching…”[1]
The letter, obtained by Israeli Haaretz Newspaper, added that the resolution was “an insult” and would “not be forgotten” despite it aiming to overturn a reckless and largely isolated US position that contravenes the international and legal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
Haley cautioned the 193 member states that the US “will be taking names” during the vote, which is expected to snub the US and pass with an overwhelming majority. Haley added that “the president and the US take this vote personally”, in an apparent attempt to intimidate smaller nations into voting in the favour of the illegal aspirations of the Zionist state.
Following Haley’s threat, Donald Trump took matters into his own hands reportedly threatening to withhold “billions” of dollars in US aid to those countries that dare vote against his declaration.[2] Perhaps the President of the United States is not yet aware that most of US aid flows to US corporations and organisations.[3]
Ironically, almost exactly one year ago, the US abstained from voting against a resolution demanding an end to illegal Israeli settlement expansion.[4] The vote passed in the UN Security Council under the auspices of the Obama administration which had then, still recognised the illegality of Zionist settlements. Haley’s threats will be seen as imposing a new status quo, forged by a radically pro-Zionist US administration on 193 member states that have largely remained consistent over Palestine.
The effectiveness of the US threats and sanctions are seen to have been undermined by the sheer volume of reckless spurts by Trump, not least against North Korea that have persistently trodden into US ‘red lines’ and continued completely in disregard of its incessant threats and intimidations.[5]
The Ambassador to the UN whined on Twitter that the UN is “doing more harm than good in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” despite near complete international consensus against Trump’s declaration that was founded almost entirely on biblical, evangelical canards not recognised by international agreements and elementary customs.
The Security Council resolution that was voted on last Monday saw the unanimous backing of all members of the security council, except the US, outnumbering it by 14 to one.[6]
Riyad al-Maliki, foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), said in a statement on Monday: “The member states of the General Assembly will be asked to vote on the same draft resolution that we presented to the Security Council, which the US has blocked with the veto.”
Source: www.islam21c.com
Notes:
[1] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/jerusalem-haley-sends-threatening-letter-members-171220082816709.html
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/20/donald-trump-threat-cut-aid-un-jerusalem-vote?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
[3] http://www.politifact.com/global-news/statements/2017/mar/08/raj-shah/yes-most-us-foreign-aid-flows-through-us-organizat/
[4] http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/23/politics/israel-official-rips-obama-un-settlements/index.html
[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41910167
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/us-outnumbered-14-to-1-as-it-vetoes-un-vote-on-status-of-jerusalem
