The UN Security Council has voted in favor of a resolution demanding the halt of settlement activity by Israel on occupied Palestinian territory with the United States notably abstaining.
The resolution was put forward at the 15-member council for a vote on Friday by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and US president-elect Donald Trump.
Israel and Trump had called on the United States to veto the measure.
United Nations Security Council passes resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements. The US abstained. https://t.co/m5GcDJWQn3 pic.twitter.com/ATbWW6sRmC
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 23, 2016
It was adopted with 14 votes in favor, to a round of applause. It is the first resolution the Security Council has adopted on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, reacted angrily to the vote and issued a sharp parting shot at the Obama administration’s role.
“It was to be expected that Israel’s greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution. I have no doubt that the new US administration and the incoming UN Secretary General will usher in a new era in terms of the UN’s relationship with Israel,” he said.
Great News.. It's back on.. and it's happening today..United Nations Security Council to vote Against Israel's Illegal Colonies.. pic.twitter.com/KHcK0Xkw8F
— Abbs Winston (@AbbsWinston) December 23, 2016
Hours before the UN Security Council vote, the Israelis made clear their intense disappointment with the US over the resolution, which calls on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
“President Obama and Secretary Kerry are behind this shameful move against Israel at the UN,” a senior Israeli official told CNN.
“The US administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel’s back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts and effectively make the Western Wall occupied Palestinian territory,” a senior Israeli official said.
Before the vote, a Palestinian official said, “We have nothing to say about this. No President has troubled Palestinians in the UN more than President Obama.”
(Al Jazeera, CNN, Social Media)
