This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/world/middleeast/israel-settlements-un-vote.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Delayed U.N. Vote to Condemn Israeli Settlements Is Reset for Friday U.S. Abstains as U.N. Security Council Votes to Condemn Israeli Settlements
(about 2 hours later)
UNITED NATIONS — A contentious United Nations Security Council draft resolution condemning Israel’s settlement building abruptly delayed for a vote on Thursday after an extraordinary intervention by President-elect Donald J. Trump has been rescheduled for a vote Friday afternoon, diplomats said. UNITED NATIONS — Defying extraordinary pressure from President-elect Donald J. Trump and furious lobbying by Israel, the Obama administration on Friday allowed the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.
The rescheduled vote, which the diplomats said could happen around 2 p.m., addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of the most polarizing issues confronting the United Nations. The administration’s decision not to veto the measure broke a longstanding American tradition of serving as Israel’s sturdiest diplomatic shield.
The draft text, which Egypt had first proposed, will be sponsored this time by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela. Applause broke out in the 15-member Security Council’s chambers following the vote on the measure, which passed 14-0, with the United States abstaining.
The vote was rescheduled a day after a striking turnaround by Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who postponed it after a telephone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The vote came a day after Mr. Trump personally intervened to keep the measure, proposed by Egypt, from coming up for a vote on Thursday, as scheduled. Mr. Trump’s aides said he had spoken to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Both men also spoke to the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egypt postponed the vote.
Israeli officials also contacted Mr. Trump’s transition team, and the president-elect publicly spoke out urging the United States delegation to use its veto power to block the resolution from passage. Mr. Trump also spoke with Mr. Sisi, an aide to Mr. Trump’s transition team said. But in a show of mounting frustration, a group of other countries on the Security Council all of them relatively powerless temporary members with rotating two-year seats snatched the resolution away from Egypt and put it up for a vote Friday afternoon.
Mr. Netanyahu had scrambled for ways to postpone the vote in part because it was unclear how the United States, which historically has vetoed similar resolutions to shield Israel from condemnation, would vote this time.
The departing Obama administration has been highly critical of Israel’s settlement building, describing it as an impediment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Trump has made clear that he will take a far more sympathetic approach to Israel when his administration assumes office in a month.The departing Obama administration has been highly critical of Israel’s settlement building, describing it as an impediment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Trump has made clear that he will take a far more sympathetic approach to Israel when his administration assumes office in a month.
Mr. Trump’s comments on the issue amounted to his most direct intervention on United States foreign policy during his transition to power.Mr. Trump’s comments on the issue amounted to his most direct intervention on United States foreign policy during his transition to power.
It remained unclear on Friday how the United States would cast its ballot. The United States ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told reporters Friday morning that she would not take questions about the resolution. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, who had urged the American delegation to block the measure, expressed his disappointment in a statement that looked forward to a change in policy under Mr. Trump.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, urged the American delegation to block the measure. “It was to be expected that Israel’s greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution,” he said.
“This resolution is a Palestinian initiative, which is intended to harm Israel,” he said in a statement. “We call on the United States to stand by us, and we expect our greatest ally to continue with its longstanding policy and to veto this resolution.”