PM slams UN, Obama on resolution
"The resolution is distorted. It states that the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall are occupied, which is absurd." Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
MIDDLE EAST: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out yesterday at what he called the ‘‘old-world bias against Israel,’’ attacking President Barack Obama and the United Nations over a resolution that criticised Israel’s settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel also withdrew its ambassador to New Zealand, which had sponsored the resolution.
Netanyahu compared Obama with former US president Jimmy Carter, whom he called hostile to Israel and the last president to break with US commitments to support the state. Those who try to harm Israel will pay a high price, the prime minister said, adding that Israel would fight to cancel Saturday’s resolution.
‘‘The resolution is distorted. It states that the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall are occupied, which is absurd,’’ said Netanyahu, referring to holy Jewish sites that sit within the Old City in East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu balanced his harsh words about Obama with his most explicit statement yet in enthusiastic anticipation of Obama’s successor, Donald Trump.
Israeli leaders yesterday seemed to be counting down the days to Trump’s January 20 inauguration, hoping he will offer a more sympathetic approach to Israel and bring an end to what one senior minister called Obama’s support for ‘‘Palestinian intransigence, incitement, violence and terror.’’
Later yesterday, the US president-elect tweeted that the UN action ‘‘will make it much harder to negotiate peace. Too bad, but we will get it done anyway!’’
The resolution, which was brought for a vote on Saturday in the UN Security Council, declared that settlements built on land Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-israeli war have ‘‘no legal validity’’ and are a threat to the possibility of creating two states – one for Israelis and one for Palestinians.
The 15-member council passed the resolution 14 to 0, with the United States, in a break from standard practice, abstaining rather than vetoing. It was the first resolution adopted by the council on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.
The vote also sparked strong reactions among US lawmakers. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CNN he will ask Congress to rescind funding for the United Nations unless it repeals the resolution on settlements.
‘‘If you can’t show the American people that international organisations can be more responsible, there is going to be a break,’’ Graham said. ‘‘I can’t support funding a body that singles out the only democracy in the Middle East who shares our values.’’
Netanyahu said the Obama administration had ‘‘not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it has colluded with it behind the scenes.’’
He called the resolution shameful and said Israel would not abide by its terms.
On Thursday, Obama spoke by phone with advisers and said he was open to abstaining from a vote on an Egyptian resolution scheduled for Friday.
But the Egyptians withdrew their resolution after President Abdel Fatah al-sissi spoke with Trump, who had been approached by worried Israeli officials. New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal stepped in and sponsored their own settlements resolution. On Saturday (NZ time), Obama authorised an abstention. It was relayed to Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, through national security adviser Susan Rice.
Following the vote, Netanyahu ordered diplomatic steps against the countries that had brought the resolution and with whom Israel has diplomatic relations. He instructed Israel’s ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to immediately return to Israel and cancelled a planned visit to Israel by the Senegalese foreign minister scheduled for next month. He also suspended Israeli aid programmes in Senegal. – Washington Post