Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a United Nations resolution opposing settlement expansion “shameful” in his first public remarks since Friday’s vote.
Netanyahu, speaking at a ceremony celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, assailed the United Nations and the United States, which abstained from a Security Council vote rather than vetoing the measure, as it has done in the past on resolutions critical of Israel’s policy in the Palestinian conflict.
The resolution called Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory a “flagrant violation” of international law. Israel has long disputed Palestinian claims to territory in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
“The Security Council decision calls Israeli land ‘occupied’ and that is just shameful. The decision calls the Western Wall occupied land, it is shameful,” Netanyahu said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “The decision not only does not help us make peace, it stands in the way of peace.”
Read the full article by Helen Clark at The Marshalltown.com.