In an unprecedented diplomatic rebuke of Israel, the United States abstained Friday on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements, allowing the highly charged measure to pass.
The resolution was approved 14-0 with the one abstention. The vote was greeted with loud applause in the packed Security Council chamber.
The measure demands Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem." It declares the establishment of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."
In abstaining, the U.S. brushed aside calls for a veto by president-elect Donald Trump who, in an unprecedented move, managed to delay the vote a day by weighing in with Egypt, the initial sponsor of the resolution.
In a tweet after the vote, Trump offered his reaction to the outcome: "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th."
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, in remarks to the council after the vote, said the U.S. position on the settlements has remained unchanged for five decades, and quoted a 1982 statement by then-President Ronald Reagan, which declared Washington ''will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements.''
"The U.S. has been sending the message that the settlements must stop, privately and publicly, for five decades," Power said.
Settlement activity, she added, ''harms the viability of a negotiated two-state outcome and erodes prospects for peace and stability in the region.''
At the same time, she said, "Our vote does not in any way diminish our steadfast and unparalleled commitment to the security of Israel." Israel, she noted, "faces very serious threats in a very tough neighborhood."
In a statement issued by his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. and will not abide by its terms."
"At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall 'occupied territory.'"
Netanyahu, whose relations with President Obama have been decidedly strained over the past eight years, said the U.S. administration "not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the U.N., it colluded with it behind the scenes."
"Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution," the statement said.
The American Jewish Congress also expressed dismay with the move.
"In the strongest terms possible, the American Jewish Congress is deeply disappointed with the Obama administration for shamefully abstaining on today's anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution," the group said in a statement. "By the U.S. abstaining, President Obama abandoned long standing American foreign policy of vetoing one-sided resolutions against Israel at the United Nations, and in doing so, he steps away from his presidency, turning his back on the unbreakable bond with our great ally Israel."
At the U.N., Israeli ambassador Danny Danon criticized the U.S. abstention, saying he has "no doubt" the Trump administration will usher in a new era. In remarks to the council, he said Jews have conquered many obstacles in the past, and "we will overcome this evil decree, too."
Pro-Israel lobby AIPAC said it was "deeply disturbed" the Obama Administration declined to veto what it called a "destructive, one-sided, anti-Israel resolution."
"By adopting this resolution, the United Nations has once again served as an open forum to isolate and delegitimize Israel — America’s lone stable, democratic ally in the Middle East," AIPAC said in a statement.
Read an equally bristling statement from the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the rabbinic arm of the United States reform movement, "The CCAR has frequently criticized the current Israeli settlement policy as an obstacle to peace. At the same time, the United Nations is not the arena in which to address these complex issues. Peace negotiations belong between the two parties involved. Further, the UN's obsessive and relentless criticism of Israel, while ignoring the unspeakable repression committed by illegitimate regimes and terrorist organizations worldwide, falsely and maliciously labels Israel uniquely as a pariah state."
Palestinian authority ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour thanked the council for the vote and said he believes it could contribute to prospects for peace talks. The resolution, he said, "may rightly be seen as a last attempt to preserve the two-state solution and revive the path for peace, to keep the hope alive."
Although Egypt withdrew the measure Thursday, co-sponsors New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal requested the vote take place Friday. To pass, it needed nine "aye" votes and no veto from a permanent council member — the United States, France, Russia, Britain or China.
In the past, the U.S. has vetoed a similar resolution, which Israel strongly opposes.
White House officials said the administration's decision not to veto is consistent with its long-standing opposition to Israeli settlements, calling them an incitement to violence and an impediment to peace.
The United Nations resolution "makes clear that both Israel and the Palestinians have to take steps to preserve the two-state solution," said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications.
Rhodes said the U.S. had nothing to do with the U.N. resolution, and that the Obama administration has been warning Israel for years that settlements were increasing its international "isolation."
As for Trump's tweet, Rhodes said Obama remains in charge until Jan. 20. "There is one president at a time," he said.
While the resolution does not call for sanctions on Israel, it amounts to a high-profile rebuke of the Israeli government and could hamper Israel's negotiating position in future peace talks. Palestinians argue that the expansion of settlements on the disputed land makes a peace deal even less likely.
Under international law, Israeli settlements — built on Palestinian land occupied by Israel — are considered to be illegal. Some 600,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem and on the West Bank, which the Palestinians seek as part of a future independent state. Israel captured both areas in the 1967 Mideast war.
Israel argues the final status of the territories should be determined in any future talks on Palestinian statehood.
Trump slams UN resolution on Israeli settlements
Trump, who does not take office until Jan. 20, had issued a statement Thursday calling for a U.S. veto only hours before the initially scheduled vote.
Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the Republican president-elect spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about the proposed Security Council action Thursday.
On Friday, Sisi's spokesman said the two leaders agreed to allow Trump's incoming administration a chance to take up the issue.
"During the call, they discussed regional affairs and developments in the Middle East, and in that context the draft resolution in front of the Security Council on Israeli settlement," said spokesman Alaa Yousef.
"The presidents agreed on the importance of affording the new U.S. administration the full chance to deal with all dimensions of the Palestinian case with a view of achieving a full and final settlement.
A senior Palestinian official, speaking anonymously according to protocol, said Egypt didn’t consult with the Palestinians about delaying the vote and it was a “complete shock” for them, AP reports. Egypt represents Arab states on the security council.
Egypt is the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, with whom it shares close security ties in a joint struggle against Islamic militants.
