Jerusalem vote: Israel warns Ghana not to repeat ‘mistake’

The Embassy of the State of Israel in Ghana has expressed regret over Ghana’s vote at the Special United Nation General Assembly sitting on Thursday. Ghana was among 128 nations that voted against the United States’ decision to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem at the sitting. Nine nations including Ghana’s neighbours Togo voted in favour of the move while 35 abstained. Twenty-one nations were absent.

A statement from the Israeli embassy on Friday described Ghana’s vote as a “mistake”. It also described the whole process at the UN head office as a “farce” and “meaningless”. “The UN cannot dictate to Israel or any other country which of its cities it has to recognize as a capital. In the same regard, the UN cannot dictate to the US or any other country whether or not to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and where to site their embassies in Israel. “This voting by the UN General Assembly is meaningless from the viewpoint of International Law. It is therefore evident that the Palestinians are using all forms of diplomatic efforts in international organizations to fight against Israel instead of engaging in direct negotiations with Israel for the sake of peace.” It asked Ghana not to repeat “such mistake” in subsequent motions. “The Embassy of the State of Israel in Ghana, therefore, regrets the mistaken vote of Ghana against the State of Israel during the Special United Nation’s (UN) General Assembly sitting on Thursday, 21 December 2017 as the assembly adopted a resolution regarding Israel’s capital Jerusalem. “We hope such mistake will not be repeated by Ghana in subsequent motions.” By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|editors.3news.com|Ghana Follow @kwame_amoh