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| Trump joins Netanyahu in urging US veto of UN bid to halt settlements | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Donald Trump has echoed the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in urging the Obama administration to veto a UN security council draft resolution that calls for an immediate halt to settlement building on occupied land Palestinians seek for a state. | |
| Netanyahu took to Twitter in the dead of night in Israel to make the appeal in a sign of concern that Barack Obama might take a parting shot at a policy which he has long opposed and at a an Israeli leader with whom he has had a rocky relationship. | Netanyahu took to Twitter in the dead of night in Israel to make the appeal in a sign of concern that Barack Obama might take a parting shot at a policy which he has long opposed and at a an Israeli leader with whom he has had a rocky relationship. |
| Hours later, Trump, posting on Twitter and Facebook, backed his fellow conservative Netanyahu on one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. | Hours later, Trump, posting on Twitter and Facebook, backed his fellow conservative Netanyahu on one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. |
| “The resolution being considered at the United Nations security council regarding Israel should be vetoed,” Trump said. | “The resolution being considered at the United Nations security council regarding Israel should be vetoed,” Trump said. |
| “As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations. | “As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations. |
| “This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis,” he wrote. | “This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis,” he wrote. |
| After Trump’s statement, a US administration official said: “We have no comment at this time.” | After Trump’s statement, a US administration official said: “We have no comment at this time.” |
| Egypt circulated the draft on Wednesday evening and the 15-member council was due to vote in New York on Thursday afternoon, diplomats said. They added that it was unclear how the US, which in the past has protected Israel from UN action, would vote. | |
| The resolution would demand Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem”. | The resolution would demand Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem”. |
| The White House declined to comment. Some diplomats hope Obama will allow security council action by abstaining on the vote. | The White House declined to comment. Some diplomats hope Obama will allow security council action by abstaining on the vote. |
| Israeli officials voiced concern that passage of the resolution would embolden the Palestinians to seek international sanctions against Israel. | Israeli officials voiced concern that passage of the resolution would embolden the Palestinians to seek international sanctions against Israel. |
| Obama’s administration has been highly critical of settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. US officials said this month, however, that the president was not expected to make major moves on Israeli-Palestinian peace before leaving office. | Obama’s administration has been highly critical of settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. US officials said this month, however, that the president was not expected to make major moves on Israeli-Palestinian peace before leaving office. |
| The US says continued Israeli settlement building lacks legitimacy but has stopped short of adopting the position of many other countries that it is illegal under international law. Some 570,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. |