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Netanyahu Calls UN Resolution “Distorted and Disgraceful”; Will Reevaluate UN Ties

Stung by President Obama’s refusal to protect Israel from a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning its policies in the West Bank, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the nation on Saturday night that he is “reevaluating [Israel’s] ties to the United Nations,” beginning with the decision to withhold some $8 million to five UN agencies he characterized as “particularly hostile toward Israel.” Other immediate reactions include halting aid to Senegal, one of the nations that sponsored the resolution, recalling Israel’s ambassadors from New Zealand and Senegal, and canceling the visit of the prime minister of the Ukraine, which also voted for the UN measure. Repeating a theme Israeli diplomats have been using lately, Netanyahu pointed to the “absurdity” of Obama and the Security Council “harassing the only democracy in the Middle East while “half a million people are being massacred in Syria, tens of thousands are slaughtered in Sudan and the entire Middle East is going up in flames.” The Israeli prime minister was not alone this time, the action by the Obama administration causing considerable bipartisan condemnation. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) raised the idea of bi-partisan “consequences” for those who supported the resolution. In addition to the mass outpouring of outrage from the Republican side and the frequently-expressed belief that President-elect Trump will work to offset the Security Council action, Senate and House Democrats broke with President Obama on the issue. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) called the resolution “frustrating, disappointing and confounding” and agreed with Netanyahu’s assessment that the resolution will hinder the search for peace. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) called for a bipartisan response to what he termed “flagrantly one-sided” and “unconscionable.” Nevertheless, not all of the response was negative. Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch applauded the move by President Obama as did some left-wing Jewish organizations. Outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who only last week criticized his own organization for its lopsided mass of anti-Israel resolutions, applauded the latest one. Domestically, Netanyahu’s political opponents placed the blame on the prime minister suggesting his rocky relationship with President Obama was the cause of the resolution.