TheCable

Nigeria was among the 128 countries which voted against the decision of President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The countries on the opposing side stood their ground at the UN general assembly despite Trump’s threat to cut off funding to them.

Thirty-five countries, among them Rwanda abstained while nine tiny countries, including Togo, voted along with US.

The resolution reaffirms that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations, and that any decision reached outside of that framework must be rescinded.

Speaking ahead of the emergency session, Nikki Haley, US ambassador warned the general assembly that 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,” Haley said.

“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.

“When we make generous contributions to the UN we also have a legitimate expectation that our goodwill is recognised and respected.”

The status of the Holy City is one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides claiming it as their capital.

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.

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 draft resolution contains the same language as past motions adopted by the assembly.

Here is the list of the countries which voted against the decision to recognise Jerusalem.

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic, People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, and Ecuador.

Others are Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan,
Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger and Nigeria.

Also in this category are: Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria
T: Tajikistan, Thailand, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey
U: United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam
Yemen and  Zimbabwe.

The countries which supported Trump’s stance were Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia
Nauru, Palau, Togo and United States.