UN Security Council To Vote on Resolution Against Israeli Construction in West Bank

Egypt surprised Israel, the US and many of the UN Security Council’s members by presenting a draft resolution against Israeli construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and asking for a vote on Thursday. The draft resolution states that Israeli construction in those areas has “no legal validity” and calls on Israel to “completely halt settlement construction.” Israeli officials had expected this type of resolution before US President Barack Obama leaves office on January 20, but were surprised by the timing. They said Egypt did not give Israel any warning despite the close security ties between the two countries. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on the US to veto the resolution as it did a similar resolution in 2011, while Palestinian officials hope the US will act differently this time. There has been speculation in the Israeli press that one of President Obama’s last acts in office would be either to allow this type of resolution to pass the Security Council, or that the President would make lay out parameters for a two-state solution, meaning an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Ha’aretz newspaper reported that according to senior Israeli officials, the US has not yet decided how to vote. The Egyptian draft resolution is a little milder than several versions circulated by the Palestinians recently, but a US decision not to veto it would be seen as a clear snub to Israel and a victory for the Palestinians.