On December 23, the United States abstained on UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which reiterated that Israeli settlement activity "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law." This abstention allowed the resolution to pass, 14-0.
The resolution is consistent with fifty years of stated bipartisan US opposition to Israeli settlements and recapitulates the international community's longstanding consensus on this issue. Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that the resolution "does not break new ground."
Nevertheless, some Members of Congress are indignant that the Obama administration allowed the resolution to pass, even though it doesn't even threaten to sanction Israel if it refuses to comply.
And from what we're hearing, the Senate will soon be voting on its own version of a similar resolution.
Click here for talking points that you can use in your phone calls and for text of the House resolution (the Senate version isn't publicly available yet).
After the UN vote, Secretary Kerry explained: "If we had vetoed this resolution just the other day, the United States would have been giving license to further unfettered settlement construction that we fundamentally oppose."
These Congressional resolutions are designed to provide Israel the license it seeks to continue its illegal colonization of Palestinian land.
Sincerely,
JOSH RUEBNER
Policy Director
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights