US led UN ‘gang-up’ on Israel settlement vote — Ambassador

WASHINGTON: The White House orchestrated a “gang-up” against Israel on last week’s UN settlement vote, its ambassador to Washington said Monday in the latest sign of anger between the longtime allies.

Ambassador Ron Dermer said in an interview with CNN that the Israeli government plans to show evidence of the alleged US maneuvering in due time.

“What is outrageous is that the United States was actually behind that gang-up. I think it was a very sad day, really a shameful chapter,” the Israeli diplomat told CNN, employing unusually sharp language to describe the relationship.

“We have clear evidence of it. We will present that evidence to the new administration through the appropriate channels. And if they want to share it with the US people they’re welcome to do it,” Dermer said, adding that the Israeli government is “deeply disappointed” with Washington over the UN vote.

On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding that “Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem.”

The United States – which has a veto in the Security Council – refrained from casting its vote, enabling the adoption of

What is outrageous is that the United States was actually behind that gangup. I think it was a very sad day, really a shameful chapter. Ron Dermer, Ambassador

the measure, the first resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

Relations between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have long been cool, with sharp differences over settlement policy, the contours of a potential Middle East peace deal, and Iran’s nuclear program. Israel receives more than 3 billion in annual US aid – a record 3.8 billion starting in 2018 – and previous Israeli leaders have carefully nursed the relationship.

But Dermer bluntly accused the Obama administration of helping Palestinians “wage a diplomatic and legal war against Israel.”

“They do not want to negotiate peace with us, which is why they’ve avoided negotiations for eight years,” he said.

“What do the Palestinians want? What they want is to blame Israel for the lack of peace and to internationalize the conflict,” Dermer continued. — AFP