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Netanyahu Thanks House for Voting to Repudiate UN on Anti-Israel Resolution

January 6, 2017

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday thanked the House of Representatives for passing a motion the prior day to rebuke the United Nations Security Council for approving a resolution that condemns Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Critics have called the U.N. measure, which passed the Security Council by a 14-0 vote last month, anti-Israel and "one-sided" against the Jewish state. The Obama administration allowed the resolution to pass the international body by abstaining from the vote rather than using its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council, breaking with decades of U.S. policy to defend Israel against such initiatives.

The House voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to repudiate the U.N. Security Council for the resolution and called for it to be either repealed or changed.

Netanyahu opened his remarks by expressing his anger for the resolution, calling it "outrageous."

"After the outrageous anti-Israel resolution at the U.N., the U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday resoundingly to support Israel and reject this one-sided resolution," he said. "Democrats and Republicans alike know that the Western Wall isn't occupied territory."

Netanyahu then described how the House vote would affect the resolution and thanked the United States and Congress for their work.

"They voted to either repeal the resolution at the U.N. or change it—and that's exactly what we intend to do," he said. "I want to thank the U.S. House of Representatives, which reflects the tremendous support Israel enjoys among the American people. Thank you, America. Thank you, Congress."

The Obama administration's decision to let the U.N. resolution pass has caused severe bipartisan backlash in the U.S. and anger inside Israel.

 

"It was to be expected that Israel's greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution," said Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., after the vote last month. "I have no doubt that the new U.S. administration and the incoming U.N. secretary general will usher in a new era in terms of the U.N.'s relationship with Israel."

In the aftermath of the U.N. vote, Netanyahu lambasted President Obama for the U.S. abstention.

"The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the U.N., it colluded with it behind the scenes," the Israeli leader 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."