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LIVE UPDATES No Veto: UN Security Council Adopts Anti-settlement Resolution; U.S. Abstains
New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal decide to push for a vote after Egypt asks to postpone it due to Israeli pressure; Israeli officials slam Obama: 'He's abandoning Israel.'

By Barak Ravid  Last Updated 11 Minutes Ago
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The UN Security Council this week. Andrew Kelly, Reuters
A Tweet from Trump and pressure on Egyptians: How Israel blocked UN vote on settlements
With Palestinian support, UN Security Council members issue ultimatum on Israeli settlements
Editorial A wake-up call at the United Nations
9:22 PM No veto: UN Security Council adopts anti-settlement resolution; U.S. abstains
9:19 PM Watch live: UNSC to vote on Israeli settlements
9:18 PM Malaysian envoy: UNSC must prove the 2-state solution isn't just an empty slogan
9:09 PM Senator Chuck Schumer to Obama: U.S. must veto resolution
The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Friday on a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements. The vote is to take place at 2 P.M. EST (9 P.M. Israel time)

21:22
No veto: UN Security Council adopts anti-settlement resolution; U.S. abstains

UN Security Council adopts anti-settlement resolution; U.S. abstains from vote.
21:19
Watch live: UNSC to vote on Israeli settlements

Watch the UN Security Council discussion on the anti-settlement resolution:

21:18
Malaysian envoy: UNSC must prove the 2-state solution isn't just an empty slogan

The Malaysian envoy noted that it has been 36 years since the council adopted a resolution on the settlements and that the situation has since changed. He called on the Security Council to support the resolution and prove that "the two-state solution isn't an empty slogan."
21:09
Senator Chuck Schumer to Obama: U.S. must veto resolution

The United States is considering not vetoing the UN Security Council vote on the Israeli settlements and abstaining from it, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer implied in a statement he published, in which he detailed a conversation he had with White House officials.
“I have spoken directly to the Administration as recently as this morning, and in the strongest terms possible urged them to veto this resolution," Schumer's statement said. "An abstention is not good enough. The Administration must veto this resolution."
20:57
U.S. Jewish groups urge Obama to veto settlement motion

Jewish American groups urge Obama to veto the UN Security Council resolution on the Israeli settlements.
Labeling the motion "a one-sided, anti-Israel resolution," AIPAC said in a statement that "the UN is not the proper venue for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict… The United States must continue to oppose these harmful efforts at the U.N. and exercise its veto."
The Conference of Presidents also issued a statement, calling on Obama to "immediately announce that the United States will veto the resolution."
"This resolution is unacceptable on many grounds including that it is another end-run by Chairman Abbas to avoid the responsibilities inherent in direct and meaningful negotiations," the statement said. "There is no positive outcome from the passage of this resolution."
18:56
Obama administration rejects Israeli accusations: U.S. not involved in resolution

UN Security Council to vote on resolution against Israeli settlements on FridayU.S. officials rejected the Israeli accusations that the Obama administration was behind the Security Council resolution, saying that the U.S. was not involved in formulating the initiative or in promoting it.
“The administration was not involved in the formulation of the resolution or in advancing it,” the American officials said. “We have not communicated to any UN Security Council members how the United States would vote if the resolution comes before the UN Security Council.”
They stressed that the draft resolution was an Egyptian initiative from the start and the Egyptians were the ones who “authored it, circulated it, and submitted it for a vote on Wednesday evening before asking for a delay and subsequently removing their sponsorship. A group of other Security Council members, not including the United States, is now moving forward the Egyptian text,” the officials said.
18:43
Israeli officials: Obama is abandoning Israel

Against the background of the decision to hold a vote on Friday and the assessment in Israel that the United States will allow the resolution to pass, rather than casting its veto, senior Israeli officials attacked U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.
“Obama and Kerry are behind this shameful move in the United Nations,” the officials said.
“Obama could announce at any time that he intends casting a veto on the resolution, but instead he’s pushing it,” the officials added. “He is abandoning Israel and breaking a policy of decades to defend Israel in the UN.”
The senior official added that Obama and Kerry were carrying out the move in the UN “in cahoots with the Palestinians.” Obama, he said wants to impose a policy on President-elect Donald Trump, because he knows that Trump intends changing the policy of the U.S. on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, particularly as regards settlement.
“Obama is attempting to get a decision passed by the UN, despite knowing that it does not represent the policy of the next president,” the official said.
17:44
Israel's UN envoy calls on U.S. to veto Security Council resolution on settlements

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Israeli envoy to the UN Danny Danon called the resolution "a Palestinian initiative which is intended to harm Israel," and called on the U.S. "to stand by" Israel.
"We call on the U.S. to stand by us and we expect our greatest ally to continue with its long-standing policy and to veto this resolution," he said.

16:40
UN Security Council to vote on resolution against Israeli settlements

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Friday on a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements.
The vote is to take place at 2 P.M. EST (9 P.M. Israel time).
The decision was made following a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York between the envoys of New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal. The four states were signed on the resolution that Egypt had submitted before ultimately asking to postpone the vote on Thursday due to Israeli pressure.
The four states told Egypt on Thursday that if it did not clarify whether it planned to call a vote on the draft  resolution, then they reserved the right to move ahead with the vote.
The decision was made following a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York between the envoys of New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal. The four states were signed on the resolution that Egypt had submitted before ultimately asking to postpone the vote on Thursday due to Israeli pressure.
The four states told Egypt on Thursday that if it did not clarify whether it planned to call a vote on the draft  resolution, then they reserved the right to move ahead with the vote.
15:06
The anti-settlement resolution's main clauses

The resolution that is up to a vote at the UN Security Council tonight:
■ "Reaffirms that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution."
■ "Reiterates its demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."
■Stresses that the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-state solution, and calls for affirmative steps to be taken immediately to reverse the negative trends on the ground that are imperiling the two-state solution."
■ "Underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations."
■ "Calls upon all States, to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967."
■ "Calls for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction, calls for accountability in this regard, and calls for compliance with obligations under international law for the strengthening of ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, including through existing security coordination, and to clearly condemn all acts of terrorism; and to refrain from provocative actions, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric."

read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/LIVE-1.760936