Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the UN Security Council resolution on settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories expressing no intention of abiding by its terms.
“Israel rejects the contemptible anti-Israel UN resolution and will not subordinate itself to it” a statement released late Friday by Netanyahu’s office said.
Netanyahu defended the settlement expansion in Jerusalem and the West Bank by claiming that “the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria.”
He also described his apartheid and racist regime as “the one true democracy in the Middle East.”
The premier launched a scathing attack on outgoing US president Barack Obama for not using the veto power against the resolution.
“The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN it colluded with it behind the scenes” he said.
“Israel looks forward to working with president-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress Republicans and Democrats alike to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution” he added.
Defying pressure from right-winger Trump and furious lobbying by Israel the Obama administration refused to use its veto power on Friday and allowed the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.
The administration’s decision not to veto the measure reflected its accumulated frustration over Israel’s persistence in expanding settlements.
Its vote abstention also broke a longstanding policy of shielding Israel from action at the UN that described the settlements as illegal.
