On December, 21 the UN General Assembly has approved a resolution that rejects US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel after 128 member states voted in favor of the move, however, nine countries voted against the resolution and 35 countries abstained. The resolution condemns both US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as well as Washington's decision to move its embassy to the ancient city.
Commenting on the UN's decision, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the United Nations as a "house of lies," saying that "the State of Israel totally rejects this vote, even before [the resolution's] approval."
Additionally, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said before the vote to those at the meeting that Washington, the largest contributor to the international body, will remember the voting day. President Donald Trump threatened to withhold US aid to countries that voted in favor of the General Assembly resolution but stopped short of warning that US contributions to the United Nations itself would also be at stake.
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On December 6, Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the Department of State to take steps to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump's move has provoked the condemnation of Muslim states and prompted mass outrage across the Arab world, leading to the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization, announcing the beginning of the third "intifada."
READ MORE: Netanyahu Grateful for US Veto on Jerusalem Resolution, Sets Twitter Ablaze
