U.N. Security Council to Meet Friday on Yerushalayim

Japan’s U.N. ambassador says the U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Friday on President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Yerushalayim as the capital of Israel.

Eight countries opposed to the U.S. move requested an emergency council meeting and Japan’s Ambassador, Koro Bessho, told reporters Thursday that an open session would take place late Friday morning after previously scheduled briefings.

The eight council nations — Bolivia, Egypt, France, Italy, Senegal, Sweden, United Kingdom and Uruguay — requested that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres brief the 15-member council.

But U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Thursday that U.N. Mideast envoy, Nikolay Mladenov, will address Friday’s meeting by videoconference because he is “the lead expert on the ground.”

Haq said Thursday that “we’ve always been concerned about ensuring that the status quo in the city of Jerusalem is preserved and hope that all sides will exercise calm and restraint.”