UN convenes emergency meeting on US' Jerusalem decision NEWS / UN WATCH: Ashrawi - Trump is allowing Israel 'to annex Jerusalem' WATCH: Trump official discusses Jerusalem decision Jerusalem UN Palestine Middle East Israel SIGN UP UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov addresses the Security Council on the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital [Richard Drew/AP Photo] [The Associated Press] The UN Security Council has convened an emergency session to discuss Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that has led to deadly clashes in Palestine and strong condemnation from world leaders. Eight countries called for the emergency meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, as Palestinians protested across the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip against the US president's decision throughout the day. Several countries resoundly condemned the US' unilateral move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, including Olof Skoog, Sweden's UN ambassador, who said the decision is fuelling tension and instability in the region. Trump's declaration "goes against the plea of many friends of the US and Israel, however it does not affect the position of Sweden, the European Union or the wider international community" on the status of Jerusalem, said Skoog.

Trump, ignoring warnings from the international community, announced on Wednesday that the US was formally recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and would begin the process of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to the city. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Israel says Jerusalem, which is under Israeli occupation, cannot be divided. The international community has never recognised Israel's claim to the entire city. Nickolay Mladenov, the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said Jerusalem "is perhaps the most emotionally charged and difficult subject" among the final status issues in the conflict. "The United Nations has repeatedly declared that any unilateral decision that seeks to alter the character and status of Jerusalem or that may alter these long-standing principles could seriously undermine current peace efforts and may have repercussions across the region," Mladenov said. He added that he was "particularly concerned about the potential risk of a violent escalation" in response to the US decision. Rewarding 'Israel's impunity' Riyad Mansour, the ambassador and permanent observer of Palestine at the UN, said the Trump administration has violated "Jerusalem's legal, political and historic status and the Palestinian peoples' rights and legitimate national aspirations". "The extremely regrettable announcement ... has heightened tensions and risks the complete destabilisation of this volatile situation," Mansour said. He said the US decision "to reward Israel's impunity" should disqualify it from any leadership role in efforts to reach a solution to the conflict. The US decision does not change the tenets of international law and previous UN resolutions which state that Israel must end its occupation of East Jerusalem, Mansour said. "The status of Jerusalem cannot be unilaterally alterred or determined by any state and this decision by the US should be reconsidered and rescinded," he said. He called on the UNSC to condemn the US decision. "There can be no just and lasting solution to the Palestine question without a just solution to the question of Jerusalem. Jerusalem has long been the heart of Palestine and always will be." Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, took a decidedly different tone, saying Trump's decision "marks a milestone for Israel, for peace and for the world". "The United States has the courage and true understanding of justice to officially state what has always been known: that Jeruaslem has and always will be the capital of Israel," said Danon. "The embassy of the United States belongs in Israel's capital." Danon called on all states to "recognise Israel's connection to Jerusalem" and move their embassies to the city. "We are grateful to the United States for its courageous decision. We call on all the nations of the world to join us this year in Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel." US defensive Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, resoundly rejected the criticism from other countries at the meeting, however. She said with its decision, the US is not advocating for any change in the administration around holy sites in Jerusalem and wants the status quo to remain in place in the city. "I urge all countries in the Security Council and the Middle East to temper their statements and their actions in the days ahead," Haley said. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from the UN headquarters, said Haley delivered "a very strong criticism of the United Nations, which she claims has historically been biased against Israel". "Clearly the ambassador is feeling that the best form of defence, is attack," Hanna said. However Hanna said many of the speakers made it clear "that the US has directly flouted what has been decades of UN position that the final status of Jerusalem must be decided by the parties at the end of a negotiated process" between Israelis and Palestinians. Egypt 'denounces' move Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, Egypt's UN ambassador, said Egypt "denounces" the US decision on Jerusalem, which he said could "ignite [anger among] Muslim and Arab peoples". "Such unilateral decisions are a violation of international legitimacy and thus it has no impact on the legal status of the city of Jerusalem since it is a city under occupation," Aboulatta said. "It is not permissible legally to take any action that would alter the status quo in the city." Israel took control of West Jerusalem after the state was created in 1948. It occupied East Jerusalem after the 1967 war and annexed the eastern portion of the city in 1980 in a move that remains unrecognised by the international community. Since 1967, Israel has built several Jewish-only settlements around and inside key parts of East Jerusalem in an effort to cement its control over the entire city. Negotiations backed Matthew Rycroft, the UN ambassador representing the UK, said the British embassy is in Tel Aviv "and we have no plans to move it". He said the UK sought to reaffirm its "strong support" for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and the two-state solution. "This is the only way to ensure the long- term security that Israelis deserve and the statehood and end to the occupation that Palestinians are calling out for," Rycroft said. Mike Hanna said while Rycroft condemned Trump's unilateral move, "he said he welcomed President Trump's commitment to the two-state solution". "So the UK at least trying to take some kind of hope or some kind of traction out of what has been a diplomatic disaster for many members of the United Nations," he said.