A united rejection

If the United Nations is anything to go by America has backed itself into a cul-de-sac, deflated the tyres and immobilised the engine. Get out of that. The UN General Assembly has voted by a large majority to reject the American unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The vote came after US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley issued a threat to those that failed to vote in favour of America, “disrespecting” it as Haley put it, would suffer the consequences. The language of the street gang, the thug, comes to the genteel corridors of the UN.



Despite this 128 members of the UN voted on Thursday 21^st December in support of the international consensus that the final status of Jerusalem can only be settled as an agreed final issue in any future peace deal. President Trump has threatened to cut financial aid to any country that voted against the resolution, which now may include Iraq, Afghanistan and Egypt. It is notable that 28 EU countries voted for the resolution, including the UK, France and Germany, in yet another indicator that America is increasingly isolated among the international community.

The vote lacks any real teeth and is largely symbolic, but the Trump threats may have found their mark among the 21 delegations that were absent. A further 35 countries — including Canada — abstained. The Palestinians may have been disappointed that they did not get a clean sweep but for Trump it was a blow. Notoriously thin-skinned this will have stung.



Haley in a follow-up made it clear that the US was not to be ‘disrespected’ mainly because the considerable sums that it spends on foreign aid and the several billion dollars it gives to the UN every year. She said that America did not care to pay for the privilege of being disrespected and that Uncle Sam may well find other ways to spend his money which she spoke of as an ‘investment’. American foreign policy has become something of a grand shambles driven as it is by a self-regarding bully in the Oval Office. This may not end well.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2017.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.