He’s not yet president but he’s already calling the shots.
Donald Trump urged the Obama administration Thursday to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt to Israel building settlements in disputed territories — but soon after the president-elect’s statement, the vote reportedly was canceled.
“As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through imposition of terms by the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement.
“This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis,” he added.
The resolution, sponsored by the Egyptians, demands Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
But Egypt on Thursday decided to postpone the vote, only after Trump released his statement. Haaretz reported that it could be delayed “indefinitely.”
Trump wasn’t the only one trying to squeeze the international body.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also publicly called for a US veto.
“The US should veto the anti-Israel resolution at the UN Security Council on Thursday,” Netanyahu said in a Wednesday night tweet.