Trump leans on Obama: Veto U.N. Israel resolution
UNITED NATIONS — President-elect Donald Trump publicly pressured President Barack Obama on Thursday to veto a U.N. resolution critical of Israel, the newly elected leader’s most direct intervention in foreign policy during his transition to power.
Trump called on the president to use the United States’ veto in the Security Council to block the Arab-sponsored resolution, which condemns the “construction and expansion” of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Obama administration, which vetoed a similar resolution in 2011, had withheld judgment over the latest measure.
With the United States’ position publicly in doubt, the resolution was pulled by its sponsor, Egypt, Thursday morning, hours before the council was scheduled to vote, and it was unclear when or even if it would be brought back up. But Trump’s forceful intervention in the matter reflected an unusual public split between incoming and departing presidents, and it highlighted the stark shift on Middle East policy ahead when the new administration takes over in a month.
Obama, frustrated by two failed efforts to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians during his tenure, has been considering an effort to lay out a U.S. framework during his final days in office. Palestinian leaders and their allies had hoped he would allow passage of the anti-set- tlement U.N. resolution as an expression of frustration at Israeli policies he considers unconstructive.
Trump, who last week nominated as ambassador to Israel a bankruptcy lawyer who heads a fundraising effort for a West Bank settlement, made clear Thursday that he would not wait for his inauguration to weigh in. In a statement, he said the resolution should be vetoed.
“As the United States has l o n g mai n t a i n e d , p e a c e bet ween the Israeli s and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations,” the statement said. “This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.”