US wields veto over Jerusalem

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Europe

Monday was a slightly odd day at the United Nations Security Council in New York.

On the one hand a resolution was being tabled calling on the US to reverse its decision to switch its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

On the other, this was a draft from Egypt, one of Washington's oldest strategic partners in the region and one of only two Arab nations to have signed a peace agreement with Israel.

Members of the UNSC vote on an Egyptian-drafted resolution regarding recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem at UN Headquarters in New York City, New York, US, Dec. 18, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The morning was split into three separate components.

First, we heard from the Secretary General's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nikolay Mladenov, who spelled out the latest grim figures from the region.

He was followed by two non-permanent representatives on the Council – Uruguay and Bolivia.

Then as the cameras swung away, a behind-closed-doors session took place away from the zoom lenses.

Finally, back on camera, the vote – 14 in favor and one against. The US used its Perm 5 veto power for the first time in six years to stop the resolution dead in its tracks.

Afterwards there were passionate speeches from key players.

The US Ambassador Nikki Haley said "no one will tell the US where it can put its embassy.

"What we witnessed here in the Security Council is an insult. It won't be forgotten. It's one more example of the United Nations doing more harm than good in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Today for the simple act of deciding where to put our embassy, the United States was forced to defend its sovereignty. The record will reflect that we did so proudly."

Palestinian Authority Ambassador, Riyad Mansour, said the US move in favor of Jerusalem was a "provocative" one that "denied reality and insults the feeling of billions of believers around the world."

Meanwhile, Israeli ambassador Danny Danon – who had been invited into the chamber to speak after the vote – said the US veto proves that America "does not back down from what's right."

So, nothing came of Monday's resolution beyond the chance to restate familiar positions in public.

Egypt had been slated to feature on the international news agenda again later this week when US Vice President Mike Pence was slated to visit Cairo as part of a Middle East tour that would have included the Holy Land too.

However, late Monday the trip was postponed till the new year... by which time things could look very different in the Middle East.