TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Nine countries rejected the United Nations (UN) special general assembly resolution on Thursday, December 21, 2017 regarding the status of the City of Jerusalem.

The UN resolution stated that the status of the City of Jerusalem will be decided finally through a negotiation process between Israel and Palestine. This resolution made by Egypt was supported by 128 countries, with 35 countries abstaining and 21 others absent from the session.

The countries that rejected the resolution were the United States, Israel, Togo, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands, Guatemala and Honduras. Apart from the US and Israel, these seven countries are relatively small countries with developing country class economies.

Here are brief profiles of those countries that support Israel regarding the status of Jerusalem:

1. Togo

It is one of the smallest countries on the African continent and is located in the West African region. The area of this country is only 57 square kilometers with a population of around 7.9 million people. The capital is Lome and the official language is French. The per capita income is relatively small, namely US$1,468 or around Rp20 million per year, with the majority of their livelihoods being in agriculture and phosphate mining.

2. Federation of Micronesia

It is an island country located in the West Pacific Sea. The meaning of the name is small islands. The population is around 105,000 people with an area of around 702 square kilometers. The official language is English. Per capita income is around US$3000 or Rp40 million per year. This country routinely follows the US position in voting on resolutions at UN forums.

3. Republic of Nauru

It is an island country in the Micronesia region, located in the West Pacific Sea. With a capital city called Yaren, this country only has an area of around 21 square kilometers and a population of around 10,000 people. However, compared to neighboring countries such as the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru has a relatively large per capita income, namely $12,000 or around Rp161 million per year. This comes from immigration detention facilities paid for by Australia. Another source of income is phosphate mining.

4. Republic of Palau

This country is located in the West Pacific Ocean region like the Federation of Micronesia and the Republic of Nauru. This country consists of 340 small islands and has a total area of around 466 square kilometers with a population of 21,500 people. Per capita income is around $16,000 or around Rp215 million per year. The country's main income comes from tourism, fishing and agriculture.

5. Marshall Islands

This country is located in the Pacific Ocean region near the equator. The capital city is called Majuro and the official language is English. The area is around 181 square kilometers and the population is around 53,000 people. Per capita income is $2900 or around Rp39 million per year. This country's source of income comes from agriculture and fishing. However, the trade balance is experiencing problems because it imports too many necessities.

6. Guatemala

This country is located in South America, precisely south of Mexico. The capital is Guatemala City and the official language is Spanish. Its area reaches around 109,000 square kilometers with a population of around 17 million people. Per capita income is around $8132 or around Rp109 million per year. About 54 percent of the population lives in poverty. The community's main source of income comes from remittances from Guatemalans working in the US.

7. Honduras

This country is a neighbor of Guatemala with a capital city called Tegucigalpa and the majority speaks Spanish. The area is approximately 112,000 square kilometers. The per capita income is around $5500 or around Rp74 million per year and is called one of the poor countries by the World Bank. Currently, Honduras supports the US stance of declaring the City of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

TEMPO.CO

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