The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday voted 128-9 in favor of a resolution calling on the United States to withdraw its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and declared the Trump administration's earlier move "null and void." In light of today's historic vote in New York, one thing is clear: Washington's Middle East policy has just hit rock bottom.
This historic decision by the U.N. General Assembly established beyond doubt that Israel, as an occupying force, and the United States, as the main sponsor of Israeli occupation, have suffered a great loss. At this point, U.S. President Donald Trump must question how his administration ended up in this mess and what actions he could take in the future to restore Washington's credibility. Unless the Trump administration reconsiders its decision to upend seven decades of American foreign policy, U.S. diplomats will face far greater problems in the Middle East.
It was childish of Washington's U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to threaten sovereign nations around the world. The United States must understand that they must respect their allies instead of trying to bully them. Ambassador Haley and the Trump administration brought shame to the State Department, whose employees will find it difficult to look their counterparts in the eye today.
By contrast, Turkey deserves credit for showing leadership at a time when certain regional powers were reluctant to publicly oppose the Trump administration's reckless Jerusalem move. By hosting an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan single-handedly fired the first salvo. "We welcome with great pleasure the UN General Assembly's overwhelming support for a historic resolution on Al-Quds Al-Sharif," Erdoğan tweeted minutes after the decision. "We expect the Trump administration to rescind without further delay its unfortunate decision, whose illegality has been clearly established by the U.N. General Assembly."
The U.N. General Assembly not only dealt a major blow to Donald Trump's administration but also made it clear that the international community is more prepared than ever to take necessary steps towards peace in the Middle East. If there ever was any doubt, it is clear now that Washington's misguided policies won't bring peace to this troubled part of the world. As a matter of fact, Trump just blew his chance at mediating peace talks or solving problems. Now, it is time for countries around the world, which can engage in serious and patient diplomacy, to find a solution to this long-standing problem.
