UN set for second Jerusalem vote as US promises to take it personally

New York (dpa) - The UN General Assembly was due on Thursday to vote on a resolution opposing the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel‘s capital, despite threats from the United States that it will punish those who vote in favour.Turkey and Yemen took the resolution to the UN‘s General Assembly after the US vetoed it in the Security Council.US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley posted on Twitter: "The US will be taking names" of those who vote against her country.In a more detailed letter to diplomats at the UN, Haley wrote that Trump and the US "take this vote personally."Trump, who caused a diplomatic firestorm this month by announcing the US would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, on Wednesday threatened to cut funds to countries who vote against the US."We‘re watching those votes. Let them vote against us, we‘ll save a lot," he said.The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki warned Washington that it was committing a "grave mistake" while Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusolgu said it "must not threaten countries."In the 193-member assembly, no country has veto power, and the resolution is more likely to be approved.But such General Assembly resolutions generally carry less weight than the 15-member Security Council resolutions.The status of Jerusalem has been one of the most sensitive and explosive issues in the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.Israel has long claimed Jerusalem as its "undivided capital," while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of an eventual State of Palestine.