Trump calls for veto of UN anti-settlement resolution

(JTA) — President-elect Donald Trump said a resolution introduced at the United Nations Security Council against Israeli settlements should be vetoed.

“As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations,” Trump said in an official statement issued Thursday morning, hours after the resolution was introduced by Egypt the previous afternoon.

“This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.”

The resolution against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem is scheduled for a vote on Thursday afternoon.

The introduction of the resolution reportedly caught Israel by surprise, though one had been expected before the end of President Barack Obama’s term on Jan. 20.

The United States has traditionally vetoed such resolutions, saying the two sides have to work things out, but it is unclear what Obama will do in the waning days of his administration.

The resolution states that the settlements “in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967” are a violation of international law and demands that Israel “completely cease all settlement activities,” which it calls essential for keeping open the option of a two-state solution. It also calls upon all countries to distinguish between Israel and the occupied territories in their dealings with them and “for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in a tweet sent after 3 a.m. Israel time wrote: “The US should veto the anti-Israel resolution at the UN Security Council on Thursday.” He canceled a scheduled public appearance on Thursday afternoon in order to deal with the vote, according to reports.