One by one, 14 members of the UN Security Council have spoken out against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at an emergency meeting, some with regret and some with anger at the 15th member, the United States.

It wasn't the first time that the U.S. stood alone in defending its close ally, Israel, in the UN's most powerful body. Over decades, it has vetoed many council resolutions it viewed as harmful to Israel.

But Friday's meeting was a rare rebuke for an action the United States took that in the eyes of the rest of the council violates UN resolutions and decisions that Jerusalem is an issue to be resolved by Israel and the Palestinians in final peace negotiations toward a two-state solution.