Dec 28, 2016:
In Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a speech regarding U.S.-Israel relations and the recent abstention in the U.N. by the United States.
Read a transcript of Kerry's speech here.
Kerry Rebukes Israel, Calling Settlements a Threat to Peace | The New York Times
Praise for Kerry's Israel Speech in Arab World, but Shrugs, Too | The New York Times
Kerry rips 'settler agenda' in speech defending UN vote, Israeli PM fires back | Fox News
Theresa May's criticism of John Kerry Israel speech sparks blunt US reply | The Guardian
Read an op-ed in The Washington Post that supports a two-state solution here.
Read an op-ed in The Washington Post that does not support a two-state solution here.
Dec 26, 2016:
Regarding the U.N. resolution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:
We have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed.
Over decades American administrations and Israeli governments have disagreed about settlements, but we agreed the Security Council was not the place to resolve this issue.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer said:
It's an old story that the United Nations gangs up against Israel. What is new is that the United States did not stand up and oppose that gang up. And what is outrageous is that the United States was actually behind that gang up.
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro.
Source:
Schwartz, Michael; Liebermann, Oren; Masters, James. (December 26, 2016). "Israel summons US ambassador as Netanyahu lashes out at Obama". CNN. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
The Israeli government said it will continue to build new homes in the West Bank. Israel intends to approve the building of 600 new homes this week as part of a long-range plan which includes the building of 5,600 new homes.
Defying U.N., Israel Prepares to Build More Settlements | The New York Times
Dec 23, 2016:
The United Nations Security Council approved a resolution condemning construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The United States abstained from voting.
Security Council Condemns Israeli Settlements As U.S. Abstains From Vote | NPR
U.S. abstains as UN votes to condemn Israel settlements | PBS
UN Security Council urges end to Israeli settlements | Aljazeera
US abstains in key Israel vote, clearing way for condemnation of settlements | Fox News
In a statement/release entitled "On-the-Record Press Call on the U.N. Security Council Resolution on Israeli Settlement Activity" Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said the following:
First of all, this is consistent with longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy as it relates to settlements, as it relates to our opposition to Israeli settlements, as it relates to our opposition to, and condemnation of, incitement and violence and terrorism, and, above all, about our affirmative support for a two-state solution.
And one of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity -- which has accelerated in recent years, which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the U.N. Security Council resolution that condemns settlements -- puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence. And we've been very concerned that these accelerating trends are putting the very viability of a two-state solution at risk. And in that context, we therefore thought that we could not in good conscience veto a resolution that expressed concerns about the very trends that are eroding the foundation for a two-state solution.
The second thing I would say is that it is -- again, not only has it been the consistent policy under bipartisan U.S. administrations to oppose settlement activity, it has also been consistently the case that U.S. administrations have addressed the Israeli-Palestinian issue, or the broader Arab-Israeli issue, through the U.N. Security Council. In fact, President Obama was, until this resolution, the first President in decades to not have such a resolution go forward during his time in office.
The third thing that I would say just by way of opening is that we, as Samantha Power said, do have concerns about the U.N. as a venue for addressing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is why, for instance, we have consistently resisted efforts to impose a solution to the conflict through the United Nations, through the drawing of borders, or the recognition of a Palestinian state. What this resolution does, again, is condemn the settlement activity as well as incitement and violence, which are steps that we believe are consistent with having a basis in the future for there to be a return to the negotiating table in pursuit of a two-state solution.
But let's be clear here: We exhausted every effort to pursue a two-state solution through negotiations, through direct discussions, through proximity discussions, through confidence-building measures, through a lengthy and exhaustive effort undertaken by Secretary Kerry earlier in the President's second term. We gave every effort that we could to supporting the parties coming to the table.
So within the absence of any meaningful peace process, as well as in the face of accelerated settlement activity that put at risk the viability of a two-state solution, that we took the decision that we did today to abstain on this resolution.
Rhodes also mentioned all of the support the U.S. has provided to Israel under the Obama administration, including "the single largest U.S. military assistance package in history -- $38 billion over the coming decade", "lifesaving assistance for the Iron Dome Missile Defense System", and "unprecedented security cooperation between our military and intelligence officials".
The fact of the matter is, we'd been warning -- President Obama and Secretary Kerry publicly and privately for years -- that the trend line of settlement construction and settlement activity was just increasing Israel's international isolation. This is not a new position for us; we've been saying that for many, many, many years.
And with respect to this resolution, we did not draft this resolution; we did not introduce this resolution. The Egyptians, in partnership with the Palestinians, are the ones who began circulating an earlier draft of the resolution. The Egyptians are the ones who moved it forward yesterday. And we took the position that we did when it was put to a vote.
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