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UN council weighs measure rejecting US Jerusalem move

Thousands rally in Jakarta in favour of Palestinians


December 18, 2017 00:00:00


NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Agencies): The United Nations Security Council is considering a draft resolution that would insist any decisions on the status of Jerusalem have no legal effect and must be rescinded after US President Donald Trump recognised the city as Israel's capital.

The one-page Egyptian-drafted text, which was circulated to the 15-member council on Saturday and seen by Reuters, does not specifically mention the United States or Trump. Diplomats say it has broad support but will likely be vetoed by Washington.

The council could vote early next week, diplomats said. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.

Trump abruptly reversed decades of U.S. policy this month when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, generating outrage from Palestinians. Trump also plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

After the decision, Arab foreign ministers agreed to seek a UN Security Council resolution. While the draft is unlikely to be adopted, it would further isolate Trump over the Jerusalem issue.

The US mission to the United Nations declined to comment on the draft. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has praised Trump's decision as "the just and right thing to do."

The draft UN resolution "affirms that 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status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council."

It calls upon all countries to refrain establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.

Israel considers the city its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there.

"No vote or debate will change the clear reality that Jerusalem" is the capital of Israel, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said in a statement.

Palestinians want the capital of an independent Palestinian state to be in the city's eastern sector, which Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move never recognised internationally.

The draft council resolution "demands that all states comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem, and not to recognise any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions."

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of protesters rallied outside the US embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, against President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Sunday's protest was the fourth and largest mass rally in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, since Trump's announcement on Jerusalem's status on December 6.

An estimated 80,000 protesters called on Trump to stop his plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Al Jazeera's Dessi Arianti, reporting from the protest in Jakarta, said that many of the marchers travelled from out of town to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

"Men, women and children, carrying Palestinian flags and banners, condemned the US move while rallying at the National Monument in Jakarta at sunrise on Sunday," Arianti said.

"Many people, wearing white Muslim robes, held hands in prayers and called on Israel to leave Palestinian soil. Indonesia has been a long-time supporter of independent Palestine. Protesters called for a resolution to end the conflict and vowed to continue fighting for the cause," our correspondent said.


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