The United States on Friday opted to abstain from vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the end of Israeli settlements in disputed territories, angering Republican lawmakers and President-elect Donald Trump.
Advertisement
In a rare and momentous step, the USA instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first United Nations resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.
“I have spoken directly to the Administration numerous times … and in the strongest terms possible urged them to veto this resolution”.
His soon-to-be successor, President-elect Donald Trump, as well as a number of USA and Israeli politicians from various political backgrounds, especially conservatives, lobbied for a pro-Israel vote. A senior USA 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. The settlements are considered illegal under worldwide law, though Israel disputes this.
Indeed, it seems that an unprecedented intervention by Trump himself – in the form of a personal phone call to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi – is the primary reason why Egypt, which had initially sponsored the United Nations measure, decided on Thursday to delay the vote indefinitely.
Thus the motion is destined to go down in history as “part of the swan song of an old world biased against Israel”, while the future is bright for the Jewish State, the leader said, signing off with a Hanukkah blessing.
Sky News’ US correspondent Greg Milam said it was “extremely unusual” because previous efforts to condemn Israel over settlements have failed because the US has historically vetoed resolutions.
The measure demands that Israel cease construction in all areas it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Yesterday’s action followed a move Thursday in which the Egyptian delegation, which had initially sponsored the resolution, asked to indefinitely postpone action.
However, she said the USA had not voted in favour of the resolution because it was “too narrowly focused” on settlements.
Of the 15 member states, only the US, Russia, France, Britain and China have veto power.
Advertisement
Earlier this year Obama condemned his Israeli counterpart for going ahead with a plan to build 98 new homes in a northern West Bank settlement which sits on occupied Palestinian land. The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, said it was “disturbed” by the Obama administration’s actions – the USA didn’t vote in favor of the resolution, nor did it vote against; it abstained – calling the resolution “destructive” and “one-sided”.
