Egypt postpones UN vote on Israeli settlements

Egypt postponeda UNSecurity Council vote on Thursday on a resolution itproposed demanding an end to Israeli settlement building,diplomats said, after Israel's prime minister and U.S.president-elect Donald Trump urged Washington to veto it.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Egypt's UNmission to postpone the vote, which would have forced U.S.President Barack Obama to decide whether to shield Israel with aveto or, by abstaining, to register criticism of the building of Israeli settlements inoccupied Palestinian territories, diplomatssaid.

• West Bank outpost prepares for clashes as Knesset considers bill

In a sign that they feared Obama might abandon the U.S.'s long-standing diplomatic protection for Israel at theUnited Nations, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu urged the White House to veto the draft resolution.

Netanyahucalled on the U.S. to veto "the anti-Israel resolution" in an overnight tweet.

Sisi put off the vote after a request from Israel, twosources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Egypt was thefirst Arab state to make peace with Israel.

'Flagrant violation'

The draft resolution demands Israel stop settlement activities in the Palestinian territories and declares that all existing settlements "have no legal validity" and are "a flagrant violation" of international law.

Israel has expressed concern that Obama, who has had an icy relationship with Netanyahu, will take an audacious step in his last weeks in office to revive the peace process, but U.S. officials have said he has nearly ruled out any major last-ditch effort to pressure Israel.

• What does a Trump victory mean for the Middle East?

Theresolution would be more than symbolic since it carries the weight of international law. In the past,Obamahas refused to endorse anti-Israel resolutions in the council, saying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved through negotiations.

Still, the U.S. and much of the international community consider Israel's West Bank settlements illegitimate and an obstacle to peace. Netanyahu rejects such claims, blaming the failure of peace efforts on the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel's Jewish identity.

Netanyahu and Obama have repeatedly clashed over Israel's settlement policies. But even if Obamawere to support the resolution, it is unclear what impact it would have. Trump, who takes office in less than a month, has indicated a more sympathetic approach to Israel and appointed an ambassador who has been a supporter of the settler movement.

Construction continues

Nearly 600,000 Jewish settlers now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas the Palestinians want as part of their future state, along with the Gaza Strip. Israel captured those territories in the 1967 Mideast war.

Settlement construction has thrived under Obama's watch, despite his administration's constant condemnations, a sign of the limits of U.S. influence over its close ally. Obama has struggled to revive peace talks, which last collapsed in 2014.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Obama for more than a year had considered giving a major speech describing his vision for a future peace deal or, in a more aggressive step, supporting a UNresolution laying out parameters for such a deal.

• CBC IN JERUSALEM |Trump promises to make Israel 'safe again'

Although the goal would be to impart fresh urgency to the moribund peace process, either step would have been perceived as constraining Israel's negotiating hand while strengthening the Palestinians' argument on the world stage.

The UNvote presents Obama with an opportunity to display his impatience with Israel, but it's not clear how he will proceed. The draft resolution's language, challenging the legality of the settlements, is likely to be unacceptable to Washington.

A yearlong wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, which has tapered off in recent months but not halted completely, has further imperiled any peace efforts.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military said forces shot and killed a Palestinian who was lobbing an explosive device at troops carrying out an operation in east Jerusalem. The forces were demolishing the home of a Palestinian who carried out an October attack in Jerusalem that killed a police officer and a civilian.