REUTERS/Mike Segar Nikki Haley tried to strike a conciliatory tone to the countries that hadn't voted against the US.
- US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley invited countries that didn't vote to condemn the US's decision on Jerusalem to a "friendship" party.
- A total of 64 countries did not vote for the resolution, with most of these either abstaining or failing to cast a ballot.
- Haley, together with President Donald Trump, made statements on Thursday warning that there would be consequences for countries that voted against the US on the matter.
After a United Nations vote condemning President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley invited all the countries that didn't vote for the resolution to a party to thank them for their "friendship to the United States" on Wednesday.
The invite, which was sent via email, stated that a formal invitation would follow, and set the gala's date for January 3, 2018.
Only eight countries voted directly against the resolution, while 56 others either abstained or did not cast a ballot. The vote came after Haley threatened the US would be "taking names" of countries that voted against the resolution, which may have led to a higher number of abstentions than usually occur on Israel-related resolutions, according to Reuters.
In off-the-cuff comments made during a cabinet meeting, Trump himself seemed to threaten to cut off aid to countries that voted against the resolution.
"Let them vote against us," he said. "We'll save a lot. We don't care. But this isn't like it used to be where they could vote against you and then you pay them hundreds of millions of dollars. We're not going to be taken advantage of any longer."
The UN resolution passed overwhelmingly in the body's General Assembly on Thursday, with 128 countries voting in favor of it.
The vote was held in response to Trump's decision earlier this month to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize the city as Israel's capital. While Israel has held most of its state institutions in Jerusalem for decades, the city remains disputed, and its eastern section is still considered to be occupied territory under international law, with several UN resolutions backing up this position. Palestinians also consider East Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state.
The 8 countries who voted no with the #US on the #UNGA #Jerusalem resolution, the 35 who abstained and the 21 who did not cast a vote have been invited to a reception by @nikkihaley as a "thank you for your friendship to the United States" pic.twitter.com/x0qRs4AZlZ
- Michelle Nichols (@michellenichols) December 21, 2017