Trump threatens aid withdrawal over UN Jerusalem vote

The US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to withdraw financial aid from countries which back a United Nations resolution rejecting the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us," Trump was quoted as saying.

"We're watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care," he added.

Trump's remarks came after the US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley's tweet saying that "the US will be taking names" of those criticizing the US choice at the UN General Assembly, Xinhua reported.

The UN General Assembly will meet for a rare emergency session to discuss the status of Jerusalem on Thursday after the US vetoed earlier an Egypt-drafted request asking Washington to withdraw its decision to recognize the city as Israel's capital.

The US on Monday vetoed a Security Council draft resolution on the status of Jerusalem.

All other 14 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the Egyptian-drafted text. But as the US, which is a permanent member of the Security Council, has veto power, the draft resolution failed to be adopted.

--IANS

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