As was expected, on the Jerusalem vote in United Nations General Assembly Thursady, the members overwhelmingly supported the resolution—128 countries voted in its favour—that has called Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel ‘null and void’. The passing of this resolution is not legally binding, but it has immense symbolic value. Only nine states including US and Israel voted against the resolution.

But what is surprising is that more nations abstained from the vote—they are 35—than was expected. This, as many experts pointed out, might be due to the threat the US issued against nations just before the voting that it would cut aid to countries if they did not support the US decision. This bullying apart, the language the US diplomat to UN uttered about US funding for running UN is even more deplorable: “If our (the US) investment fails, we have an obligation to spend our resources in more productive ways." Mind the word ‘investment’ here. The position on Jerusalem this time presented a US that little bothered about morality and international laws. The US thought that this time it was not getting return from its ‘investment’ on UN!

However, the passing of UN resolution actually failed to cheer up the Palestinians on the ground, who are increasingly suffering oppression in the hand of Israel which is continuing its settlement building in the neighbourhood of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. They are evicted from their own land being shorn of their livelihood means. It is for sure that after the passage of the resolution, there will be no change in the attitude of Israeli government towards the Palestinians, or US for that matter which will not revoke its decision of calling Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, until at least during the time of presidency of Donald Trump. But the point here is the world is not with them on this decision.

Before the voting there was speculation that Saudi Arabia and some of the gulf nations that follow it would abstain from voting, given the present deep relations between Saudi Arabia and the US. The present-day Muslim Ummah is divided on many fronts. But on the question of Palestine, the Muslim countries, despite their divide, have shown a unique and laudable solidarity, thanks to the insidious move of Donald Trump. The leaders of the Muslim world must now realize that on Palestine the most nations of the world are with the Ummah and it should now utilize this support and devise means to make real the two-state solution, giving back the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.