‘Thank you America,’ says Netanyahu, hailing House for backing Israel against UN

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US House of Representatives for declaring a United Nations Security Council resolution to be a “one-sided” obstacle to peace.

“After the anti-Israeli decision at the United Nations,” he tweeted in Hebrew, “yesterday the American Congress accepted a different resolution. The members of congress expressed clear support for Israel and clear opposition to the [UNSC] resolution. Thank you members of Congress, thank you America!”

Netanyahu later issued a video in English praising the vote against the “outrageous” UN resolution, and noting, “Democrats and Republics alike know that the Western Wall isn’t occupied territory.” Thus, “they voted either to repeal the resolution at the UN or change it. And that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

The House resolution was seen as a rejection of the Obama administration, which did not veto December 23’s UNSC Resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements as illegal, thus enabling it to pass. Netanyahu has castigated the administration for abstaining in the vote, ridiculed its assertion that all land in Jerusalem and the West Bank captured by Israel in the 1967 war is occupied Palestinian territory, and claimed that the Obama presidency organized the resolution in what he called an “ambush.” The Administration denies this.

House Resolution 11 declared the UN motion a “one-sided” effort that is an obstacle to peace, placing disproportionate blame on Israel for the continuation of the conflict and encouraging Palestinians not to engage in direct, bilateral negotiations.

Passed by a vote of 342-80, the measure puts the lower chamber of Congress firmly against President Barack Obama’s decision to withhold the US veto, thus not shielding Israel against the censure.

UN Resolution 2334 said the settlement enterprise “has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law” and calls for a complete end to all construction in areas Israel captured after the 1967 Six Day War, including East Jerusalem.

It also calls on all states “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967” — language that Israel fears will lead to a surge in boycott and sanctions efforts, and that an Israeli official warned would provide “a tailwind for terror.”

Immediately after the vote, President-elect Trump criticized the UN on Twitter, vowing the ineffective world body would see an overhaul once he took office.

“The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!” he tweeted.

Israel responded furiously to the UN Security Council resolution, downgrading ties with the countries that voted in favor and calling in their ambassadors on Christmas Day for a dressing-down.

Trump, who publicly called for the US to veto the resolution ahead of the vote, has repeatedly criticized Obama’s policies on Middle East.

Eric Cortellessa contributed to this report.