Turkish, Palestinian FMs accuse Washington of intimidation

The Turkish and Palestinian foreign ministers on Wednesday accused the United States of intimidation after its ambassador to the United Nations warned countries that the U.S. "will be taking names" during a U.N. General Assembly vote.

The vote Thursday will be on a resolution rejecting President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Turkey's Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said they believed U.N. member countries would ignore "pressure" from ambassador Nikki Haley and vote with their consciences on the non-binding resolution.

Al-Maliki said: "Tomorrow we will see how many countries will opt to vote (with) their consciousness, they will vote for justice and they will vote in favor of that resolution."

Çavuşoğlu said: "The world has changed. The belief that 'I am strong therefore I am right' has changed. The world today is revolting against injustices."

"No honorable state would bow to such pressure," he added.

The two ministers are traveling to New York together to attend Thursday's vote.
"US JERUSALEM MOVE ALSO DISTURBS CHRISTIANS"
The UN General Assembly will vote on a Jerusalem proposal countering the U.S. decision, Çavuşoğlu said.

"We expect strong support from there [the General Assembly]. The decision not only disturbed Muslims, but Christians are also very disturbed," Cavusoglu said.

The move comes two weeks after Washington announced its decision to recognize the holy city as Israel's capital and begin the process to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv -- the city where all other nations house their main diplomatic facilities.

On Monday the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in the city of Jerusalem, breaking with the rest of the council.

Fourteen council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution demanding that U.S. President Donald Trump reverse course on his decision. The U.S. was the sole dissenting vote.

Jerusalem's status has long been considered a final status issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and Trump's decision is widely seen as undercutting that longstanding understanding. East Jerusalem, which Palestinians are seeking to make the capital of their state, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.