In a move that showed bipartisan support for Israel, the US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to condemn the UN Security Council resolution that slammed Israel&#39;s illegal settlements in West Bank and East Jerusalem.&nbsp;

The congressional measure passed 342 to 80, with broad bipartisan support.&nbsp;

It noted in particular that the US administration&#39;s refusal to veto the controversial Security Council measure &quot;undermined&quot; Washington&#39;s decades-long position of opposing anti-Israel action at the United Nations.

Incensed US lawmakers have assailed Barack Obama&#39;s outgoing administration for abstaining in the December 23 vote instead of vetoing the UN resolution, essentially clearing the way for its passage.

&quot;I am stunned at what happened last month. This government -- our government -- abandoned our ally Israel when she needed us the most,&quot; House Speaker Paul Ryan told the chamber shortly before the House vote.

&quot;It is time to repair the damage done by this misguided hit job at the UN,&quot; he added. &quot;It&#39;s time to rebuild our partnership&quot; with the Jewish state.

White House aides have said that while Obama is a firm supporter of Israel, he felt that after eight years he had simply run out of ways to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel building on Palestinian land is sabotaging hopes for peace.

The House measure, which is non-binding, calls for the UN resolution &quot;to be repealed or fundamentally altered so that... it is no longer one-sided and anti-Israel&quot; and allows all final status issues toward a two-state solution to be resolved through direct bilateral negotiation.

It also demands that the United States ensures that no action be taken at the Paris Conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict scheduled for January 15, that would impose an agreement on the two sides.

The French-organized talks, to be attended by around 70 countries -- but not by Israeli or Palestinian representatives -- are being held to reiterate international support for a two-state solution to the conflict.

Benjamin Netanyahu had asked his ambassadors to make sure that no further UN resolution that&#39;s critical of Israel&#39;s policies comes up in future especially in the wake of the Paris conference.

(AFP)

The congressional measure passed 342 to 80, with broad bipartisan support.?

In a move that showed bipartisan support for Israel, the US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to condemn the UN Security Council resolution that slammed Israel's illegal settlements in West Bank and East Jerusalem. The congressional measure passed 342 to 80, with broad bipartisan support. It noted in particular that the US administration's refusal to veto the controversial Security Council measure "undermined" Washington's decades-long position of opposing anti-Israel action at the United Nations. Incensed US lawmakers have assailed Barack Obama's outgoing administration for abstaining in the December 23 vote instead of vetoing the UN resolution, essentially clearing the way for its passage. "I am stunned at what happened last month. This government -- our government -- abandoned our ally Israel when she needed us the most," House Speaker Paul Ryan told the chamber shortly before the House vote. "It is time to repair the damage done by this misguided hit job at the UN," he added. "It's time to rebuild our partnership" with the Jewish state. White House aides have said that while Obama is a firm supporter of Israel, he felt that after eight years he had simply run out of ways to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel building on Palestinian land is sabotaging hopes for peace. The House measure, which is non-binding, calls for the UN resolution "to be repealed or fundamentally altered so that... it is no longer one-sided and anti-Israel" and allows all final status issues toward a two-state solution to be resolved through direct bilateral negotiation. It also demands that the United States ensures that no action be taken at the Paris Conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict scheduled for January 15, that would impose an agreement on the two sides. The French-organized talks, to be attended by around 70 countries -- but not by Israeli or Palestinian representatives -- are being held to reiterate international support for a two-state solution to the conflict. Benjamin Netanyahu had asked his ambassadors to make sure that no further UN resolution that's critical of Israel's policies comes up in future especially in the wake of the Paris conference. (AFP)

US House votes to condemn UN resolution against Israel's settlements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he hoped to stave off any possible moves at the UN Security Council against his government&#39;s policies following a Paris conference scheduled for later this month on Middle East peace.

The Security Council on December 23 adopted a resolution that demands an end to Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, despite heavy Israeli pressure against it.

France plans to convene some 70 countries on January 15 to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a conference Netanyahu has rejected in advance as &quot;futile&quot;.

&quot;There are signs that they will try to turn decisions made there into another decision in the Security Council,&quot; Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israeli ambassadors in Jerusalem.

&quot;Therefore our primary effort for now is to prevent another UN decision, another decision by the Security Council. And also to prevent a decision by the Quartet,&quot; he said, referring to the group of peace mediators that comprises the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.

&quot;We are investing a great diplomatic effort in this,&quot; he said in broadcast remarks, without providing any details.

Netanyahu has said Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following last month&#39;s resolution.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

Netanyahu fears another UN decision after Paris conference scheduled later this month

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he hoped to stave off any possible moves at the UN Security Council against his government's policies following a Paris conference scheduled for later this month on Middle East peace. The Security Council on December 23 adopted a resolution that demands an end to Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, despite heavy Israeli pressure against it. France plans to convene some 70 countries on January 15 to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a conference Netanyahu has rejected in advance as "futile". "There are signs that they will try to turn decisions made there into another decision in the Security Council," Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israeli ambassadors in Jerusalem. "Therefore our primary effort for now is to prevent another UN decision, another decision by the Security Council. And also to prevent a decision by the Quartet," he said, referring to the group of peace mediators that comprises the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. "We are investing a great diplomatic effort in this," he said in broadcast remarks, without providing any details. Netanyahu has said Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following last month's resolution. (Reuters)

Netanyahu to envoys: Prevent another UN decision critical of Israel's policies

US secretary of state John Kerry on Sunday accused right-wing Israelis of deliberately thwarting efforts to broker a peace deal with the Palestinians.

In unusually stark terms, Washington&#39;s top diplomat warned that Israeli settlement building was undermining any hope of an agreement to allow two states to live side-by-side.

At the Saban Forum, an annual gathering of senior Israeli and US policymakers, Kerry said some members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s government had made &quot;profoundly disturbing&quot; statements.

&quot;And more than 50 per cent of the ministers in the current government have publicly stated they are opposed to a Palestinian state and that there will be no Palestinian state,&quot; he said.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu had addressed the forum via video link, arguing that Israeli settlement building was not an obstacle to peace.

Israel was ready for talks with no preconditions, he said, urging Arab governments to recognise the state of Israel.

However, Kerry dismissed the idea that more Arab states would strike peace deals with Israel without any moves towards an agreement with the Palestinians.

&quot;There will be no advance and separate peace with the Arab world without the Palestinian process and Palestinian peace,&quot; he said. &quot;Everybody needs to understand that. That is a hard reality.&quot;

In the US government&#39;s view, Israel&#39;s accelerated building on Palestinian-owned land is not only an obstacle to peace but deliberately so, Kerry added.

&quot;I&#39;m not here to tell you that the settlements are the reason for the conflict, no, they&#39;re not,&quot; Kerry said.

&quot;But I also can not accept the notion that they don&#39;t affect the peace process, that they aren&#39;t a barrier to the capacity to have peace,&quot; he argued.&nbsp;

&quot;And I&#39;ll tell you why I know that: because the left in Israel is telling everybody they are a barrier to peace and the right that supports it openly supports it because they don&#39;t want peace.&quot;

US President Barack Obama&#39;s administration, which comes to an end next month with no prospect of a revived peace process, has been frustrated by the attitude of Netanyahu&#39;s government.

Still, Kerry insisted Israel has no greater friend than Washington.

Since he arrived at the State Department in February 2013, he has spoken to Netanyahu on 375 formally recorded occasions for more than 130 hours of discussions, he said.

Washington has opposed all attempts to pressure Israel through votes on United Nations bodies, he added, and has just signed a 10-year $38 billion military support deal, the biggest in US history.

(AFP)

Kerry said more than 50 per cent of the ministers in the current government have publicly stated they are opposed to a Palestinian state

US secretary of state John Kerry on Sunday accused right-wing Israelis of deliberately thwarting efforts to broker a peace deal with the Palestinians. In unusually stark terms, Washington's top diplomat warned that Israeli settlement building was undermining any hope of an agreement to allow two states to live side-by-side. At the Saban Forum, an annual gathering of senior Israeli and US policymakers, Kerry said some members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had made "profoundly disturbing" statements. "And more than 50 per cent of the ministers in the current government have publicly stated they are opposed to a Palestinian state and that there will be no Palestinian state," he said. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu had addressed the forum via video link, arguing that Israeli settlement building was not an obstacle to peace. Israel was ready for talks with no preconditions, he said, urging Arab governments to recognise the state of Israel. However, Kerry dismissed the idea that more Arab states would strike peace deals with Israel without any moves towards an agreement with the Palestinians. "There will be no advance and separate peace with the Arab world without the Palestinian process and Palestinian peace," he said. "Everybody needs to understand that. That is a hard reality." In the US government's view, Israel's accelerated building on Palestinian-owned land is not only an obstacle to peace but deliberately so, Kerry added. "I'm not here to tell you that the settlements are the reason for the conflict, no, they're not," Kerry said. "But I also can not accept the notion that they don't affect the peace process, that they aren't a barrier to the capacity to have peace," he argued. "And I'll tell you why I know that: because the left in Israel is telling everybody they are a barrier to peace and the right that supports it openly supports it because they don't want peace." US President Barack Obama's administration, which comes to an end next month with no prospect of a revived peace process, has been frustrated by the attitude of Netanyahu's government. Still, Kerry insisted Israel has no greater friend than Washington. Since he arrived at the State Department in February 2013, he has spoken to Netanyahu on 375 formally recorded occasions for more than 130 hours of discussions, he said. Washington has opposed all attempts to pressure Israel through votes on United Nations bodies, he added, and has just signed a 10-year $38 billion military support deal, the biggest in US history. (AFP)

John Kerry accuses right-wing Israelis of sabotaging peace process with Palestine