United States President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off U.S. funding to countries that support a resolution criticizing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Supporting U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley who said that the United States “will be taking names” of countries that vote in favor of a General Assembly resolution on Thursday, Donald Trump said, “For all these nations, they take our money and then vote against us. They take hundreds of millions of dollars, even billions of dollars and then they vote against us.” “We’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us,” he added.
On the other hand Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu have accused the U.S. of intimidation and told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport before flying to New York that they believe U.N. member countries will ignore “pressure” from Haley.
Al-Maliki said he believes that countries will vote their conscience Thursday, and “they will vote for justice, and they will vote in favor of that resolution.”
Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, tweeted after Trump’s comments: “Our government should not use its leadership at the UN to bully/blackmail other nations that stand for religious liberty and justice in Jerusalem. Justice is a core value of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.”