House Passes Resolution Condemning UN for Anti-Israel Action

The Fellowship  |  January 6, 2017

A large room full of the House of the Representatives with a podium and the American flag at the center of the room.
House Passes Resolution Condemning UN for Anti-Israel Action

Those who stand for Israel were appalled by the U.N.’s recent vote against the Jewish state – and the United States’ refusal to veto said vote. The U.S. Congress was appalled, too, writes The Jerusalem Post’s Michael Wilner, and showed their support for Israel yesterday by passing a resolution condemning the U.N.’s action and calling on President Obama to veto any similar actions:

The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Thursday condemning the UN Security Council for censuring Israel over its settlement enterprise, and calling on the Obama administration– which allowed the UN move to pass– to veto any similar actions in the international chamber.

The resolution acknowledges America’s longstanding and bipartisan support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, but reminds the government of its historic policy opposed to “one-sided” UN resolutions that seek to impose parameters for such a solution onto the parties.

It is this policy, the resolution asserts, that the Obama administration undermined with its latest action at the UN, which condemned Israel over its construction in the West Bank and “east Jerusalem.” The White House abstained from the vote, choosing not to utilize its permanent veto power.

The status of East Jerusalem remains a sticking point between Israelis and Palestinians, and the US has for years considered it a topic not for UN deliberations but for final-status, direct negotiations.

“The passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 undermined the longstanding position of the United States to oppose and veto United Nations Security Council resolutions that seek to impose solutions to final status issues, or are one-sided and anti-Israel, reversing decades of bipartisan agreement,” the resolution asserts, referring to US President Barack Obama’s decision to abstain from the vote.

It “undermines the prospect of Israelis and Palestinians resuming productive, direct negotiations,” the resolution reads, and “contributes to the politically motivated acts of boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel and represents a concerted effort to extract concessions from Israel outside of direct negotiations…”

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