Israel: Obama administration ‘colluded’ against it at UN

by Nikita Vladimirov - 12/23/16 4:58 PM ET

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office blasted the Obama administration on Friday for refusing to veto a United Nations resolution declaring settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.

“The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes,” the statement read.

The statement also conspicuously welcomed the imminent transfer of power from Obama, who has long had strained relations with Netanyahu, to President-elect Donald Trump.

{mosads}”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,” it said.

The statement also took a broader swipe at the U.N. resolution, calling it “shameful” and promising that Israel would “not abide by its terms.”

“At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop [the] slaughter of people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall ‘occupied territory,’ ” the statement added.

The United States abstained from the vote, a decision that had the effect of allowing the resolution to pass. In doing so, it broke with most precedents, where U.S. vetoes have doomed resolutions condemning the settlements.

Trump and a number of Republican lawmakers have also expressed outrage at the U.N. resolution, criticizing the United Nations for pushing the measure.

Several Democrats also came out against the resolution, urging the Obama administration to veto the initiative before the vote.

Tags Donald Trump