Posted on 12/24/2016 5:21:25 PM PST by Roberts
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.
The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before - a decision that Netanyahu called "shameful".
"I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.
"I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said.
The Israeli leader did not name the institutions or offer any further details.
Defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to use its veto, the United States abstained in the Security Council decision, which passed with 14 votes in favor.
Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbors including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing a biblical connection to the land.
Not really, but good for them.
Given the long and extensive history of Israeli espionage against the USA, I have to wonder what kind of "strongest ally" this is.
You don’t recall Nasser’s calls for war and the blocking of The Straits of Tiran, in itself an act of war a couple of weekks earlier!
I'm disputing the other poster's assertion about a surprise attack on the part of Israel's enemies.
62.5% of all of Palestine’s GDP comes from US government aid - while only 3.5% of Israel’s does. Trump has repeatedly said that as soon as he is sworn into into office on Jan 20th he will end all the US aid to Palestine ... and give it to Israel instead.
So it doesn’t matter what the UN rules on, by April Palestine will have run out of money and will cease to exist. Israel can then build wherever it likes.
Will Muslim countries make up the cash difference and so save Palestine? No because fighting and killing other Muslims in Iraq, Syria and Yemen is more important to them than saving Palestine.
Even more; all of Israel’s main trading partners - India, US, China, EU, Russia, Turkey and Egypt have all said they would ignore any UN ban on trading with Israel.
Israel has won.
Israel has won.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.