This was a process we all followed with excitement. Today, the Jerusalem crisis enters a new stage thanks to the smart diplomatic moves of Turkey. At the UN General Assembly, we will see how many nations will stand with Jerusalem against the U.S. However, the real critical point will come after this decision.
Let’s review all the steps Turkey has taken as a part of its Jerusalem strategy.
As term president, Erdoğan called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to hold a summit in Istanbul. The most critical point here is that taking a decision to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine. Erdogan spoke of this with world leaders. Everyone he talked to looked at it positively. As a result, an exceptionally effective communiqué was published with the unanimous vote of 48 countries.
Right after helping the OIC take the said decision, Turkey started its diplomatic plans in the UN. The matter was brought up in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Egypt’s permanent representative was the party who made the application. This was a gesture to ensure that Egypt played along.
It was already known that the U.S. would veto the drafted resolution. However, truth be told, it was not expected that four permanent and 10 non-permanent members would vote against the U.S. and leave it isolated. This surprised both Muslim countries and the U.S. The U.S. did not stop at vetoing the resolution but also made angry and threatening statements.
For this purpose, Turkey started an intense diplomatic traffic of phone calls. The objective was to have a two-third vote of 193 countries, which means 128 countries, to declare that they stand with Jerusalem. Since 57 of these are Muslim countries, 71 countries remain. It is estimated that this number can easily be reached after the block decision at the Security Council.
As you read these lines, a vote will be held at the UN’s General Assembly.
Before the UN’s decision was announced, Turkey declared that it would open an embassy in East Jerusalem which was declared as the capital of the state of Palestine. I think other Muslim countries will make a similar declaration of the UN’s decision. This means that Muslim countries will open embassies on the lands occupied by Israel. Of course Israel won’t allow this. Because Israel’s permission is needed to enter Jerusalem. So what’s going to happen?
5.
Israel has never complied with the UN’s decisions. However, the fact that the U.S. cannot be a mediator in peace talks any longer, the unanimous decision of 57 Muslim countries and the two-third vote of the UN General Assembly standing with Jerusalem against the U.S., shows that nothing shall be the same after this.
So Muslim countries and even the state of Palestine itself will demand that the UN sends soldiers to remove occupant Israeli troops from the lands of the state of Palestine. This demand will be brought to the UNSC again; the U.S. will veto this resolution and the same decision will be taken by the General Assembly. Therefore, the whole world will face the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Don’t be surprised by the title. There’s nothing in the document regarding Jerusalem. However, everybody will react to a document that involves words like “I’m the boss of the world. Everything shall be in my interest. I can use military force to protect my financial interests. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are threats for me. We will increase the power of the U.S. in the world. But UNSC members like China and Russia already showed a great reaction. I’m sure that other UNSC members who are not on good terms with the U.S. like England and France are very uncomfortable with this situation. The U.S. and EU/NATO relations are not well. So there will be many countries to teach the U.S. a lesson by making use of the Jerusalem issue.
In fact, Nikki Haley, the U.S.’s permanent representative to the UN, took the decision as an insult and said that “they will take names” of those who vote against them. Even this could cause an adverse reaction.
