U.N. Votes Overwhelmingly To Condemn U.S. Decision On Jerusalem

President Trump announced earlier this month his administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy to the disputed city. The move bucked decades of U.S. diplomatic policy and fulfilled a key campaign promise — but it also immediately set off a widespread backlash in countries around the world, who believe it would significantly undermine the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, who also claim Jerusalem as the capital of a prospective state.

As Israel lauded the move, the country’s Arab neighbors condemned it as a violation of an international resolution that forbids attempts “to alter the character and status” of the city before the peace process has concluded. And beyond the Middle East, countries across the West quickly reiterated that their own embassies would not move from their present locations in Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, in the Palestinian territories, protests escalated into clashes between demonstrators and Israeli authorities. And rocket fire from the Gaza Strip was answered with Israeli airstrikes.

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