US President Donald Trump increased the pressure on members of the United Nations (UN) by threatening to eliminate US funding to any member that voted against his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"All these nations that take our money and then vote against us at the Security Council and they vote against us potentially at the Assembly," Trump said at the White House. "They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us. Well, we're watching those votes."

"Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care," he concluded.

Read more: US vetoes UN vote for withdrawal of Trump Jerusalem decision

The remarks follow a stern warning delivered by US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday, who threatened to "take the names" of countries that vote in favor of the draft resolution rejecting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The vote will take place in the General Assembly on Thursday in an emergency session scheduled after the United States vetoed the same measure in the Security Council on Monday.

The remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-drafted resolution, including key US allies such as Italy, Japan, Britain, France and Ukraine.

While the five permanent members of the Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – had veto power in the first vote, there are no vetoes at the General Assembly.

Read more: Jerusalem: Three things to know

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Clashes with police A Palestinian protester hurls stones toward Israeli police during clashes near the Jewish settlement of Beit Al, close to the West Bank city of Ramallah. Palestinians called for a "day of rage" in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. At least two protesters were killed on Friday during clashes with security forces.

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Protests following prayers Jerusalem itself has seen some of the largest protests, as here in front of the Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City. Hundreds of additional police were deployed to control the masses of protesters after Palestinian calls for protests after Friday prayers.

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Protests reach Iraq And those calls for protest have received a response from Shiite Muslims in Iraq. These men have taken to the streets in the southern city of Basra. Palestinians are angry because they want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state; Trump's move, supported by Israel, could thwart that desire.

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Israeli and US flags burned Indian-controlled Kashmir also saw protests, with Muslim men seen here burning Israeli and US flags during a rally in Budgam, southwest of Srinagar. Protesters marched in several places in Srinagar and other parts of the region after Friday prayers, chanting slogans such as "Down with America" and "Down with Israel."

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests 'Long live Islam' In Malaysia, more than 1,000 Muslims protested outside the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur against Trump's decision. The protesters, led by Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, marched from a nearby mosque after Friday prayers to the US Embassy, halting traffic as they chanted "Long live Islam.”

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Turkey: Protesters voice their indignation These Turkish women are venting their anger in support of the Palestinian cause. But Trump's decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem has been condemned by many governments of non-Muslim countries as well.

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Trump's picture burned Protesters in Egypt burn a picture of US President Donald Trump with his face crossed during a protest in front of the Syndicate of Journalists in Cairo. The picture reads, "Journalists are telling you Trump, Jerusalem is Arab." Hundreds of protesters also gathered in Al-Azhar mosque and outside in its courtyard.

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests 'Stop your blind support'! In Jakarta, Indonesia, protesters in the world's most populous Muslim nation wear Palestine headbands. More than 300 protesters shouted "Go to hell Israel!" and called on Trump to stop his "blind support" for the Jewish state.

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Massive marches in Iran The streets of the Iranian capital, Tehran, have also been the scene of huge protests at the US decision. As an arch-enemy of Israel, the Iranian government is likely to view the US move as particularly offensive.

Muslims worldwide respond to Palestinian call for protests Muslims in Germany join the outrage Germany has also seen protests, with mostly Muslim demonstrators attending a rally at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate while waving Palestinian and Turkish flags. The German government has been among those to warn urgently against Trump's move. Author: Timothy Jones



Measure expresses "deep regret" over Jerusalem decisions

Turkey and Yemen requested the emergency session on behalf of the Arab group of countries and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation.

Read more: Israel airstrikes strike Gaza Strip during Palestinian 'day of rage'

The two countries' draft measure echoes the measure that was vetoed on Monday, and reiterates that any decision on the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be rescinded.

Similarly to the Egyptian-drafted measure, it does not directly reference Trump or the US, but it does express "deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem."

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki had said the Palestinian Authority would seek support for the measure at the General Assembly if Haley exercised Washington's veto.

Malki said in a statement that while Haley considered "the veto a source of pride and strength, we will show her their position is isolated and rejected internationally."

Read more: Jerusalem fallout: Deadly clashes between Palestinians, Israelis over US decision

Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, as well as move the US Embassy to the city from Tel Aviv, sparked widespread anger and protests among Palestinians and Muslim communities worldwide.

Israel seized control of the eastern part of Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and sees the whole of Jerusalem as its indivisible capital, while the Palestinians view the east as the capital of a future state.

Under a 1950 resolution, an emergency special session can be called for the General Assembly to consider a matter "with a view to making appropriate recommendations to members for collective measures" if the Security Council fails to act.

Only 10 emergency sessions have been convened. The last such session the General Assembly held was in 2009 on occupied East Jerusalem and Palestinian territories. Thursday's meeting will be a resumption of that session.

US Vice President Mike Pence was expected to visit Jerusalem on Wednesday, but delayed his Middle East trip following the US veto, the White House announced.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Jerusalem, the city of David According to the Old Testament, David, king of the two partial kingdoms of Judah and Israel, won Jerusalem from the Jebusites around 1000 BC. He moved his seat of government to Jerusalem, making it the capital and religious center of his kingdom. The Bible says David's son Solomon built the first temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel. Jerusalem became the center of Judaism.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Under Persian rule The Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (3rd from the left) conquered Jerusalem in 597 and again in 586 BC, as the Bible says. He took King Jehoiakim (5th from the right) and the Jewish upper class into captivity, sent them to Babylon and destroyed the temple. After Persian king Cyrus the Great seized Babylon, he allowed the exiled Jews to return home to Jerusalem and to rebuild their temple.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Under Roman and Byzantine rule The Roman Empire ruled Jerusalem from the year 63 AD. Resistance movements rapidly formed among the population, so that in 66 AD, the First Jewish–Roman War broke out. The war ended 4 years later, with a Roman victory and another destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The Romans and Byzantines ruled Palestine for approximately 600 years.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Conquest by the Arabs Over the course of the Islamic conquest of Greater Syria, Muslim armies also reached Palestine. By order of the Caliph Umar (in the picture), Jerusalem was besieged and captured in the year 637 AD. In the following era of Muslim rule, various, mutually hostile and religiously divided rulers presided over the city. Jerusalem was often besieged and changed hands several times.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The Crusades From 1070 AD onward, the Muslim Seljuk rulers increasingly threatened the Christian world. Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade, which took Jerusalem in 1099 AD. Over a period of 200 years a total of nine crusades set out to conquer the city as it changed hands between Muslim and Christian rule. In 1244 AD the crusaders finally lost control of the city and it once again became Muslim.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The Ottomans and the British After the conquest of Egypt and Arabia by the Ottomans, Jerusalem became the seat of an Ottoman administrative district in 1535 AD. In its first decades of Ottoman rule, the city saw a clear revival. With a British victory over Ottoman troops in 1917 AD, Palestine fell under British rule. Jerusalem went to the British without a fight.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The divided city After World War II, the British gave up their Palestinian Mandate. The UN voted for a division of the country in order to create a home for the survivors of the Holocaust. Some Arab states then went to war against Israel and conquered part of Jerusalem. Until 1967, the city was divided into an Israeli west and a Jordanian east.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history East Jerusalem goes back to Israel In 1967, Israel waged the Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel took control of the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Israeli paratroopers gained access to the Old City and stood at the Wailing Wall for the first time since 1949. East Jerusalem is not officially annexed, but rather integrated into the administration.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Muslim pilgrimage to Israel Israel has not denied Muslims access to its holy places. The Temple Mount is under an autonomous Muslim administration; Muslims can enter, visit the Dome of the Rock and the adjacent Al-Aqsa mosque and pray there.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Unresolved status Jerusalem remains to this day an obstacle to peace between Israel and Palestine. In 1980, Israel declared the whole city its "eternal and indivisible capital." After Jordan gave up its claim to the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1988, the state of Palestine was proclaimed. Palestine also declares, in theory, Jerusalem as its capital. Author: Ines Eisele



jcg, law/jil (AFP, Reuters)