Israel ‘will not abide by terms’ of United Nations resolution on settlements

Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah Sisi took the opposite view, delaying the vote after pressure from Israel and, it is thought, US President-Elect Donald Trump.

Israel has accused the U.S., its closest ally but a frequent critic of settlements, of engineering the vote – a charge Washington has denied.

Trump said in a statement, “The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed”. A senior U.S. official told Reuters that the Obama administration had not been involved in any part of the UN resolution going forward following Israeli accusations saying that the United States was pushing for the initiative.

“Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations and will not abide by its terms”, Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement afterwards.

US officials also have been concerned about continued incitements of violence by Palestinians, and Rhodes said the resolution voted on Friday included greater balance to reflect that than past resolutions.

“We knew that going there would make negotiations harder and drive peace farther away”.

The resolution demands “Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem”.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the administration planned to use the USA veto authority as a permanent member on the Security Council. “As I told John Kerry on Thursday, “Friends don’t take friends to the Security Council”, he said, switching from Hebrew to English.

Netanyahu called it a “shameful” decision. The US chose to abstain from voting.

The vote was postponed, but US officials continued to monitor discussions over the Egyptian-authored resolution until Friday. But it has also kept up the longstanding USA tradition of trying to head off anti-Israel resolutions at the UN.

Mr Trump, who called for a veto along with Netanyahu, is likely to be a more staunch supporter of Netanyahu’s right-wing policies.

“As to the United Nations, things will be different after January 20th”, the president-elect tweeted. The White House has denied the allegation.

Turning his displeasure on the U.S. government, he then accused U.S. President Barack Obama of backing out of a long-standing commitment to stand by Israel.

That draft was put on hold but it made a reappearance with sponsorship from New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela.

She said “President Reagan’s words highlight the United States’ longstanding position that Israel settlement activity in territories occupied in 1967 undermines Israel’s security, harms the viability of a negotiated two-state outcome, and erodes prospects for peace and stability in the region”.