UN Jerusalem vote victory for truth, justice: Hamas leader

Thursday’s UN General Assembly vote on Jerusalem was “a victory for truth, justice and history”, according to Ismail Haniyeh, head of Gaza-based Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

On Thursday, the assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on the U.S. to withdraw its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Of the assembly’s 193 member-states, 128 voted in favor of the resolution, nine voted against and 35 abstained.

According to Haniyeh, the assembly’s adoption of the resolution "reflected the free people’s will and the rejection of U.S. hegemony and political intimidation”.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Haniyeh called on the U.S. administration "to comply with the international will and retract its decision”.

Along with the U.S. and Israel, the resolution was opposed by Honduras, Togo, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Guatemala.

A full two thirds of the UN’s member-states -- including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Greece -- voted in favor of the resolution.

On Dec. 6, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, drawing widespread regional and international condemnation.