NEW YORK, DECEMBER 6 – Italy joined seven other Member States of the Security Council in requesting an urgent meeting of the 15-member body to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, diplomats said on Wednesday.
The request for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to publicly brief the Security Council meeting was made also by France, Bolivia, Egypt, Senegal, Sweden, Britain and Uruguay, the diplomats said. The meeting which will include a briefing of the UN Special Representative Nikolai Mladenov is tentatively scheduled for Friday.
Trump abruptly reversed decades of US policy on Wednesday, generating outrage from Palestinians and defying warnings of Middle East unrest. Trump also plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
In the wake of the announcement by President Trump, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday stressed that there is no alternative to the two-state solution and that Jerusalem is an issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the parties.
“In this moment of great anxiety, I want to make it clear: there is no alternative to the two-state solution. There is no Plan B,” said Mr. Guterres, speaking to the press at UN Headquarters in New York.
In his remarks, the UN chief noted that it is only by realizing the vision of two states “living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition, with Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestine, and all final status issues resolved permanently through negotiations,” that the legitimate aspirations of both peoples will be achieved.
“I understand the deep attachment that Jerusalem holds in the hearts of so many people. It has been so for centuries and it will always be,” he added. (@OnuItalia)
