International

The United States blocked a Security Council resolution Monday at the United Nations that would have rejected President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s vote marked the Trump administration’s first Security Council veto. All 14 other members supported the resolution, underscoring the U.S. isolation on the issue.

Haley said she cast the veto “in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America’s role in the Middle East peace process.”
     The draft of the resolution, called for by Egypt, did not name the United States or Trump. It expressed “deep regret at certain decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,” and asserted that “Jerusalem is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations.” It further declared as null and void “any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition” of the city, and urged countries not to establish diplomatic missions in the city.

Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital and start lengthy preparations to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv has been criticized by all the Arab countries and many U.S. allies, including fellow Security Council members France and Britain.