Agrees delay on UN Israel vote

Egypt agreed to postpone a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements when US President-elect Donald Trump called President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the presidency said Friday.

Egypt had requested on Thursday that its resolution demanding Israel halt settlements be postponed after Israel launched a frantic lobbying effort.

"The phone call touched on the draft resolution before the United Nations Security Council on Israeli settlements," a statement from Sisi's office said.

"The two leaders agreed on the importance of giving the new administration a chance to deal comprehensively with all the aspects of the Palestinian cause to achieve a comprehensive settlement," it said.

Trump, who had campaigned on a promise to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, bluntly said Washington should use its veto to block the resolution.

"The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed," he said in a statement.

Sisi, a former military chief who overthrew his Islamist predecessor in 2013 in a move condemned by Obama, has expressed admiration for Trump.

He told the Financial Times in a recent interiew that he was "very optimistic" about Trump.

"President-elect Trump is tackling terrorism with more resolve and seriousness and that's exactly what's needed now,” he said.

The ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 unleashed a bloody crackdown on his followers that killed hundreds of protesters.

A jihadist insurgency since has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, mostly in the eastern Sinai Peninsula.

Source: AFP