Trump calls on Obama to veto proposed UN Security Council resolution on settlements
President-elect Donald Trump has called on President Barack Obama to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution that calls on Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity amid reports indicating that the vote may be postponed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 71st U.N. General Assembly in New York City Sept. 22, 2016. Credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO.
“The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed,” Trump said in a post on Facebook.
The president-elect added that the resolution would violate the longstanding U.S. policy that peace between Israel and the Palestinians “will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations.”
“This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis,” Trump said.
The resolution being proposed by Egypt, which is a non-permanent member of the Security Council, demands that Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem.” The Security Council was expected to vote on the measure Thursday afternoon. But the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday morning that Egypt may withdraw its plan to proceed with the resolution, citing a Western diplomatic source.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Thursday that the U.S. “should veto the anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. Security Council.”
JNS.org
