06 May, 2017
The resolution, adopted Tuesday by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), declared all Israeli legislation relating to Jerusalem's disputed status to be "null and void".
The United Nations' cultural agency voted to condemn Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem.
Politicians in Israel are calling for the United Nations to be expelled from Jerusalem following a resolution from the agency's cultural body rejecting the state's sovereignty over holy sites in the eternal city.
The text denounced actions taken by "Israel, the occupying power.to alter the character and status of the holy city of Jerusalem" and criticized the country's annexation of Jerusalem in 1967 - a move never internationally recognized.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who announced the decision at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said that he had ordered the foreign ministry to immediately implement the order.
He said the deducted amount will be transferred to Israel's Foreign Ministry and will be used to develop relations "with countries that want to be close to Israel".
Rothstein said Tuesday: "This latest assault on Israel's claim to the Jewish people's holiest city will only serve to fuel further conflict, rather than justice and peace between Israelis and Palestinians".
Sweden was the only European Union country to vote for the resolution, which passed by a vote of 22-10, with another 26 states either abstaining (23) or not showing up to vote (3).
Israel's Foreign Ministry says Ambassador Carl Magnus Nesser was summoned Wednesday after Sweden was the only European country to vote for a UNESCO resolution criticizing Israeli excavations in east Yerushalayim as a violation of global law.
However, the prime minister also mentioned that the number of countries supporting the biannual anti-Israel resolution at UNESCO had dropped.
"For the first time in UNESCO, more countries voted to oppose or abstained than voted in favor and of course, this is important", Netanyahu proclaimed. Also opposing it were Greece, Great Britain, Germany, Lithuania and the Netherlands. "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, it always was and always will be", he said.
While many Republicans have pushed for the USA government to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, official US policy recognizes Tel Aviv as the capital of the Jewish state.
Israel's work near and around the site often increases tensions in Jerusalem.
