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Vote on Israel could spur further action or trouble for UN
The U.S. green light that allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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A Palestinian boy sits in the yard of his house, back-dropped by the Israeli housing development, Har Homa, in east Jerusalem, Sept. 21, 2009. (AP/ Bernat Armangue)
The U.S. green light that allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But it also poses dangers for the United Nations with the incoming Trump administration and may harden Israel's attitude toward concessions.
The Obama administration's decision to abstain and allow the U.N.'s most powerful body to approve a long-sought resolution calling Israeli settlements "a flagrant violation under international law" was a sharp rebuke to a longstanding ally and a striking rupture with past U.S. vetoes.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted after the vote, "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th" — when Trump takes office.
Israel's U.N. ambassador is calling the Security Council's vote condemning the country's settlements in Palestinian territory "a victory for terror" and warning that it will not lead to peace.
Danny Danon told the council after Friday's 14-0 vote with the U.S. abstaining that the resolution was full of "lies" and will be added "to the long and shameful list of anti-Israel U.N. resolutions."
In the ambassador's words: "By voting 'yes' in favor of this resolution, you have in fact voted 'no'. You voted 'no' to negotiations. You voted 'no' to progress, and a chance for better lives for Israelis and Palestinians. And you voted 'no' to the possibility of peace."
Danon says the council is "sending a message to the Palestinians that they should continue on the path of terrorism and incitement."
He is urging incoming U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to make clear to the Palestinians that the only way forward is "to end incitement and terror and to enter meaningful negotiations with Israel." Guterres takes office Jan. 1.
