Jerusalem:
An Israeli official is accusing President Barack Obama of a “shameful move against Israel at the UN” after learning the White House did not intend to veto a Security Council resolution condemning settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The official said the “US Administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel’s back.”
He spoke on Friday a day after, following heavy Israeli pressure, Egypt indefinitely postponed the UN vote.
“This is an abandonment of Israel which breaks decades of US policy of protecting Israel at the UN and undermines the prospects of working with the next administration of advancing peace,” the official said anonymously in line with protocol.
Although the US opposes settlements, it has traditionally used its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council to block resolutions condemning Israel, saying that disputes between Israel and the Palestinians must be resolved through negotiations.
