Trump calls for veto of UN resolution on Israeli settlements

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday called for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would halt Israeli settlement activities to be vetoed.

“As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement.

“This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.”

{mosads}The Security Council will vote on the resolution, drafted by Egypt, on Thursday.

It calls for Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem” and labels the existing settlements a “flagrant violation” of international law, according to the Times of Israel.

The resolution also says that the “cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-state solution” and “calls for affirmative steps to be taken immediately to reverse the negative trends on the ground.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also calling on the U.N. to veto the resolution.