Israel’s PM blasts UN as ‘house of lies’

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israel’s prime minister is blasting the United Nations as a “house of lies” ahead of a vote to reject President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Acknowledging that the resolution will likely pass by a wide margin, Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel “completely rejects this vote before it is made.”

Trump’s declaration on Dec. 6 departed from decades of U.S. policy, and international consensus, that the fate of Jerusalem should be decided through negotiations. Netanyahu says Jerusalem is Israel’s capital regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s vote.

The Palestinians turned to the General Assembly after the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution calling on Trump to rescind his decision.

The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, home to key Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy sites, as their capital.