President Donald Trump is committed to ongoing efforts to reach a Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, the US ambassador to the UN said Friday amid a backlash over his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"Let me again assure you, the president and this administration remain committed to the peace process," Nikki Haley said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council that was convened over Trump's decision.
Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel and begin moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv drew withering criticism at the emergency meeting in New York.
The U.S. decision “risks prejudging the outcome of negotiations” in the Middle East and “contradicts international law,” Olof Skoog, Sweden’s ambassador to the UN, said Friday.
U.K. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the move was unhelpful to peace and that his country considers East Jerusalem to be “part of occupied Palestinian territories.”
Trump said his decision shouldn’t prejudge final talks over Israel’s borders or sovereignty within Jerusalem. He portrayed the move in a speech on Wednesday as being in the best interests of the U.S. and “the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Even so, Trump’s announcement has been denounced by the Palestinians and throughout the Muslim world.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cautioned that the embassy move will still take a while given the complex logistics involved.
"It’s not something that’s going to happen this year or next,” Tillerson told reporters in Paris on Friday, where he was attending a conference on Lebanon.
His comments haven’t been enough to quell the global furor.