UN Security Council to meet Friday on Jerusalem

The United Nations (UN) Security Council will convene an emergency session Friday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, according to the French mission to the UN.

"France, together with Bolivia, Egypt, Italy, Senegal, Sweden, UK & Uruguay, has requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council on #Jerusalem," the French mission to the UN tweeted on Wednesday.

Aymeric Chuzeville, spokesman for the French delegation, confirmed in a separate tweet that the meeting was scheduled for Friday morning.

The Bolivian mission to the UN also confirmed the request for an emergency meeting of the Security Council.

France is a staunch opponent of U.S. decision on Jerusalem, which was announced by Trump earlier Wednesday. The French Foreign Ministry quoted President Emmanuel Macron as saying that Paris supports the two-state solution that calls on Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security, with Jerusalem being the capital of both states.

"We must prefer appeasement and dialogue," the president was quoted as saying.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. permanent representative to the UN, hailed Trump's decision as "courageous and historic."

"For 22 years, there has been an overwhelming bipartisan consensus in favor of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to its rightful place in the Israeli capital city of Jerusalem. Today, the president took a courageous and historic step that was long overdue," the envoy said in a statement.

"Across the globe, America has its embassy in the capital city of the host country. Israel will now be no different. It is the just and right thing to do," she added.

The international community does not recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Palestinians regard East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967, as the capital of their future state.

The status of Jerusalem as a whole has long remained an unresolved issue. It is feared that Trump's decision may trigger violence in the Middle East.