The United Nations body’s debate and vote highlighted for a second time in a week the international isolation of the United States over the Jerusalem issue 
 
 The United Nations general assembly has delivered a stinging rebuke to Donald Trump, voting by a huge majority to reject his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Lithuania did not show up for the vote.The vote showed that Israel has made inroads in Latin America, as Argentina, Mexico and Colombia – all countries that Netanyahu visited in September – abstained.Notably, India, with whom Israel has forged very strong ties and where Netanyahu will be traveling next month, voted for the measure.In addition to the US and Israel, the other countries that voted against the measure were Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo.Israel’s ambassador Danny Danon said before the vote: “Those who support today’s resolution are like puppets.  American threats to cut off aid to countries voting in favor of a General Assembly resolution condemning the US for deciding to move its embassy to Jerusalem did not move the needle too far inside the world body, as the measure passed handily on Thursday by a vote of 128 against nine, with 35 abstentions and 21 countries not voting. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly responded to the vote, saying that “Israel completely rejects this preposterous resolution.”“Jerusalem is our capital, always was, always will be,” he said. “But I do appreciate the fact that a growing number of countries refuse to participate in this theater of the absurd.”He said he wanted to especially thank Trump and ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for “their stalwart defense of Israel, and their stalwart defense of the truth.”The Palestinians, on the other hand, applauded the results. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said the vote is a “victory for Palestine.”“We will continue our efforts in the United Nations and at all international forums to put an end to this occupation and to establish our Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.The results of this vote were not significantly different than results of two other special votes in the General Assembly regarding the conflict over the last five years.In 2012, the Palestinians gained non-member observer status as a state by a vote of 138 to nine, with 41 abstentions and five no-shows. In November 2012, 138 countries voted on favor of a General Assembly resolution giving nonmember state status to the “State of Palestine.” Nine countries opposed the motion, with 41 abstentions. In addition to the Palestinian Authority, the other countries which spoke and slammed Israel with varying degrees of vitriol were Yemen, Turkey, Venezuela, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Maldives, Syria, Bangladesh, Cuba, Iran, China, Malaysia and North Korea.The representative of the Vatican also spoke, and essentially called for the internationalization of Jerusalem.“The Holy See calls for peaceful resolution that respects the nature of Jerusalem, its sacredness and universal value, and reiterates that only an international guaranteed status can preserve its unique character and be an assurance for dialogue and reconciliation for peace in the region.”Even before the vote, Netanyahu called the UN a “House of Lies,” and predicted that eventually all the embassies will move to Jerusalem because “truth will win out.” 
 
 Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. And a 2015 measure giving them the right to fly their flag at the UN passed 119 to eight, with 45 abstentions, and 21 countries not participating.Before Thursday’s vote, US ambassador Nikki Haley told the world body that its hostility toward Israel is “wrong [and] undermines the credibility of this institution, and that in turn is harmful for the entire world.”Haley said that Israel remains in the UN, despite the organization’s hostility, because “it’s important to stand up for yourself. Haley tells an emergency meeting of the assembly that "no vote in the United Nations will make any difference" on the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which will go ahead because "it is the right thing to do." But this vote will be remembered, she vowed, when America is being asked once again to make the single-largest contribution to the UN budget or when “so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit.” 
 
 “Those who support today’s resolution are like puppets pulled by the strings of the Palestinian puppet masters,” Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said. “They did not make it about Jerusalem, so when you make it about them and to only be able to get nine votes to say ‘no’ to it, I think it was a complete failure for their campaign.” 
 
 Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected the UN vote out of hand. President Donald Trump's threat to cut off U.S. funding to countries that oppose his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital has raised the stakes in Thursday's U.N. vote and... (Associated Press) 
 
 UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Latest on the U.N. vote on Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and related developments (all times local): 
 
 2:30 p.m. 
 
 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he expects President Donald Trump's administration to rescind its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital following a U.N. vote approving a resolution rejecting the U.S. move.
– "The US will be taking names," Nikki Haley warned Wednesday ahead of the UN General Assembly's Thursday vote on whether to reject President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It has a lot of names to take: The vote was 128-9 in favor of the nonbinding resolution that demands the US walk back its Dec. 6 declaration. The vote "amount[s] to a collective act of defiance toward Washington," the New York Times reports. The AP reports Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted by tweeting, "We expect the Trump administration to rescind without further delay its unfortunate decision, whose illegality has been clearly established." How the vote went: There were 35 abstentions and 21 no-shows; one of the abstentions was Canada, which the Guardian reports had been thought to be a vote on the US side. Voting along with the US and Israel were Togo, Micronesia, Guatemala, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands, and Honduras, reports the Times of Israel. The Jerusalem Post sees the final tally as demonstrating Israel "has made inroads in Latin America"; it points out both Argentina and Mexico abstained.