UNSC weighing draft resolution rejecting US Jerusalem decision

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17 (APP):Egypt has circulated a draft resolution among the UN Security Council members that would consider any changes to the status of Jerusalem legally invalid and that any such changes must be reversed, according to media reports.
The one-page draft comes in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision in early December to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocate the American embassy in occupied land from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
Diplomats said that the draft, which is currently under consideration, was expected to come up for a vote in the 15-member Council on Monday or Tuesday. But it faces a veto from the US, a staunch supporter of Israel.
Under its terms, the draft “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status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council.”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 also demands that states refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem in accordance with prior Security Council resolutions that declare any changes in the status of Jerusalem as a city divided between Israelis and Palestinians to be violations of international law.
The measure would need nine backing votes from the Council’s 15 members in order to pass, including no vetoes from the permanent members: US, France, Britain, Russia and China.
The draft is said to have overwhelming support among UN member states.
The dramatic shift in Washington’s policy on Jerusalem triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and other Muslim countries.
The move also threw into jeopardy future peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, which Trump has vowed to broker.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other regional leaders declared after Trump’s announcement that the US had essentially disqualified itself from overseeing such negotiations.
Jerusalem is revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews, and its status has long been the subject of controversy. Palestinians also aspire to declare the city’s eastern portion as the capital of a future independent state.
The international community has long declined to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and countries have stationed their embassies in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, President Abbas’s Fatah political movement has called for widespread protests to be held against a trip by US Vice President Mike Pence to al-Quds.
“We call for angry protests at the entrances to Jerusalem and in its Old City to coincide with the visit on Wednesday Vice President Pence and to protest against Trump’s decision,” a statement released by the group said.