Israel hits back after UN settlements resolution

Israel on Sunday summoned the envoys of countries that supported a UN resolution demanding an end to the settlements, while suspending some international diplomatic ties and coordination with the Palestinians.

Speaking at the cabinet's weekly meeting, Netanyahu told the ministers to "minimize" meetings and travels to the states that backed the resolution in the UN Security Council on Friday, and with which Israel has diplomatic relations.

The foreign ministers of the 12 countries will not be accepted for visits in the Prime Minister's Office and Foreign Ministry, he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu, who is also acting foreign minister, instructed the foreign office to summon envoys of these states for a reprimand meeting in Jerusalem.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman instructed the Israeli Coordinator of the Government's Activities in the Territories to cease all meetings and talks with senior Palestinian officials, as another mean of rebuke.

The moves were part of a "diplomatic and economic price" that Netanyahu vowed to exact from countries which supported the historic motion.

The vote, passed by a 14-0 majority, with the United States abstaining, demands Israel to "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

It states that the settlements, constructed by Israel on lands it occupied in 1967, has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

The Palestinians hailed the move, with Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, telling Israel's Walla news site that he hopes the resolution will help reignite the long-stalled peace talks.

Israel reacted furiously, immediately rejecting the motion and slamming it as an "anti-Israeli" move.

In a broadcast address at a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony honoring wounded soldiers and the victims of terrorism on Saturday night, Netanyahu denounced Obama for his "shameful ambush," adding that he is looking forward to working with his "friend," president-elect Donald Trump, to undo the move.

Netanyahu said Israel will reassess its ties with the UN. He noted that he already ordered to cut 30 million shekels (about 8 million U.S. dollars) in funding to five "especially hostile" UN bodies.

"I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of UN institutions and the presence of UN representatives in Israel," he said.

Netanyahu also canceled a scheduled visit by Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, a day after it called back its envoys in New Zealand and Senegal, which together with Venezuela and Malaysia proposed the resolution.

The U.S., Israel's closest ally, traditionally protects Israel from such motions. On Friday, it abstained despite massive pressures by Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to use its veto.

The move came in the wake of the Regulation Bill, which the parliament approved in first out of three readings earlier in December. Netanyahu's right-wing coalition supports the bill.

About 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands that Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War and has been controlling them ever since, despite international condemnations.

The Palestinians wish to build their future state in these lands.

The U.S. officially opposes the settlements and considers them as an obstacle to peace. The settlements are illegal under international law.

source: Xinhua