The United Nations Security Council vote on a draft resolution calling for an end to Jewish construction in all areas desired by the Palestinian Authority for its hoped-for state – and in fact, calling for an end to all Jewish communities in those areas – has been postponed.
According to a Western diplomatic source quoted Thursday by Reuters, the vote was postponed “potentially indefinitely” in response to a request by Egyptian President Abdel el-Sisi. The original draft text of the resolution was circulated by Egypt on Wednesday evening, with the vote by the 15-member Council set for 3 pm ET Thursday.
The text of that resolution demanded that Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem… “ It said the establishment of settlements by Israel has “no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law…. [and] are dangerously imperiling the viability of a two-state solution.”
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on the PMO website and in a video, appealing to the Obama administration not to allow the resolution to pass.
PM Netanyahu: Israelis deeply appreciate the willingness over many years of the US to stand up in the UN and veto anti-Israel resolutions. pic.twitter.com/sAquM91tql
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) December 22, 2016
“Israelis deeply appreciate one of the great pillars of the US-Israel alliance: the willingness over many years of the US to stand up in the UN and veto anti-Israel resolutions,” Netanyahu said.
“I hope the US won’t abandon this policy; I hope it will abide by the principles set by President Obama himself in his speech in the UN in 2011: That peace will come not through UN resolutions, but only through direct negotiations between the parties.
“And that’s why this proposed resolution is bad. It’s bad for Israel; it’s bad for the United States; and it’s bad for peace”.