U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley vetos a resolution regarding recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem, during the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., December 18, 2017 (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt has expressed regret over failure of the UN Security Council to pass a resolution that would have required the US president Donald Trump to rescind his 6 December decision to recognise the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel due to a US veto, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Monday.
Egypt had presented the draft resolution to the Security Council on behalf of Arab countries.
The resolution was vetoed on Monday by the US after gaining support from all 14 other members of the Security Council, including key US allies Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Ukraine.
The ministry said that Egypt regrets the failure to pass a resolution expressing the “conscience” of the international community which rejected in clear terms the US’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel
“It is very worrying that the Security Council failed to issue a resolution that cofirms its previous resolutions and positions regarding the legal status of Jerusalem as an occupied city, a staus that is subject to negotiations on a final resolution for the Palestinian issue based on internationally agreed upon points of reference," the ministry said.
The statement added that the Arab countries in UN will meet to evaluate the situation and determine further steps to defend the status of Jerusalem.
Egypt has long maintained its support for the establishing of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
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