The Guardian carried a sharp op-ed highlighting the risks of America’s foreign policy U-turn on occupied Jerusalem and the likely alienation of its allies. “The danger is that Trump’s row could spiral out of control, causing long-term damage to the United Nations and to the reform programme of its Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The United States has already pulled out of Unesco, and last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussain, announced he was not seeking a second term, saying he would not bend the knee to the US.” It added, “Still worse, Trump’s bullying of the UN may obscure the seriousness of the issue at hand. Moving the US embassy to [occupied] Jerusalem is not some real-estate decision. Recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel challenges the peace process, discomforts America’s closest allies in the Middle East, and sets the US apart from its closest European allies, who have advocated a two-state solution for 40 years.”
The emergency UNGA session on US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to [occupied] Jerusalem (has) resulted in another non-binding resolution against Israel, a CNN comment piece pointed out. “General Assembly has been a popular forum for passing anti-Israel resolutions. This time, however, the resolution also specifically and strategically distanced countries from the United States in its condemnation of President Trump’s decision to recognise [occupied] Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to relocate the US embassy. UNGA members who voted for the resolution — 128 of them — gave various reasons for their votes: From claiming that Trump’s actions violate existing UN resolutions on the status of Jerusalem dating back to 1968, to expressing a desire to stand up against the Trump administration’s attempt to bully countries into voting against the resolution by threatening to withhold foreign assistance. The countries that abstained generally followed historic voting patterns.”
In a scathing editorial on Trump, China Daily called his vision ‘obscured by dangerous underestimation’. “Rather than blame the rest of the United Nations Security Council members for opposing its decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Washington should reflect on the significance of it having to use its veto instead of pettily calling it, as US UN Ambassador Nikki Haley did, ‘an insult’ that ‘won’t be forgotten’. Yet, its decision regarding the status of [occupied] Jerusalem shows Washington is anything but realistic about expectations, and its vision has been obscured by dangerous underestimation of the complexity and sensitivity surrounding the Holy City.”
The Indian Express hailed the government of India for its principled stand on the all-important vote at the UNGA. “The government of India deserves to be commended for voting in favour of the resolution moved in the United Nations General Assembly on Jerusalem. The resolution effectively condemns the unilateral US move declaring [occupied] Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and calls for compliance with Security Council resolutions on the status of the city, which is also claimed by Palestine as its capital.”
