Jerusalem vote at UN: Know the countries which voted in US favour while the world united against it

NEW DELHI: The United States faced a major embarrassment on Thursday after the UN General Assembly adopted a motion rejecting its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. 128 member nations voted against the US, 35 abstained from voting while only nine in favour of the US.

Along with US and Israel, the seven other countries which voted against the resolution are - Guatemala, Honduras, Togo, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.  

What is interesting to note is that three of these seven countries are partly governed by mutual agreements with Washington based on post-independence treaties.

Marshall Islands:  Though it gained independence from the US in 1986, the US has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the tiny state. As per the US State Department’s website, "The Government of the Marshall Islands is obligated to refrain from taking actions that would be incompatible with these security and defense responsibilities."

Palau: The small island cluster has a population of 21,400 got independence in 1994 from the US. However, its defence is still controlled by Washington.

Nauru: The United States established diplomatic relations with Nauru in 1976. The two countries work closely together on a broad range of issues, from strengthening regional security, to promoting sustainable development and addressing climate change, to protecting fisheries and the environment

Micronesia: It was under US control until 1986. It is an independent country now but is in a pact which allows Micronesians to travel and live in the United States without a visa and to serve in the US military.

The 35 countries that abstained from the vote were Argentina, Australia, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania and Rwanda.

Ukraine, which supported the draft resolution at the Security Council, was among 21 countries that did not turn up for the vote. 

How the US reacted to the vote:

Before the vote, US President Donald Trump had warned the 193-nation assembly with threats for those opposing them. When the assembly went ahead and voted against it, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said: "The United States will remember this day."

"America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that. But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the UN and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the UN," she said.

Lashing out at the UN, she added: "When we make generous contributions to the UN we also have a legitimate expectation that our goodwill is recognized and respected."

India's role:

India decided to vote against American recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. While India did not speak on the floor of the Assembly in New York on Thursday, it had earlier said that its Palestine position was independent and consistent.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said the path to Israel-Jerusalem peace clearly lay in an early negotiated solution between Israel and Palestine based on mutual recognition and security arrangements.

While resolutions by the General Assembly are non-binding, a strong vote in support carries political weight.

Israel seized the largely-Arab eastern sector of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it, claiming both sides of the city as its "eternal and undivided capital."

But the Palestinians want the eastern sector as the capital of their future state and fiercely oppose any Israeli attempt to extend sovereignty there.

Several UN resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from territory seized in 1967 and the resolution contains the same language as past motions adopted by the assembly.