The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday sent an urgent directive to ambassadors around the world asking them to act to persuade the various countries not to participate in or to oppose the vote on Thursday at the UN General Assembly against the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The General Assembly will convene for a special session on Thursday, initiated by Turkey and Yemen, with the goal of protesting U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem.
On Monday, the U.S. delegation to the UN used its veto power to shoot down a similar Security Council measure rejecting Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Turkey blasted the veto, calling the move the “most concrete indication of the illegitimacy” of U.S. policy vis-à-vis Israel.
Now that the Security Council move has failed, the Palestinian Authority is planning to introduce a similar measure in the UN General Assembly, where the U.S. lacks veto power.
While officials at the Foreign Ministry told Arutz Sheva that "this is a symbolic matter, which has no significance in any field or channel", the Ministry still plans to try to fight the initiative.
The Israeli delegation to the UN is also working feverishly to persuade as many countries as possible not to agree to the draft resolution, which will call on all the organization's members not to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
All the moves have been closely coordinated with the U.S. administration and the American Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.
Officials in Jerusalem recognize, however, that the chances that the resolution is approved are high, noting that "such measures only distance the peace in which Israel is so interested."