Egypt postponed a UN Security Council vote on Thursday on a resolution it proposed 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 UN mission to postpone the vote, which would have forced U.S. President Barack Obama to decide whether to shield Israel with a veto or, by abstaining, to register criticism of the building of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, diplomats said.
In a sign that they feared Obama might abandon the U.S.'s long-standing diplomatic protection for Israel at the United Nations, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the White House to veto the draft resolution.
Netanyahu called on the U.S. to veto "the anti-Israel resolution" in an overnight tweet.
Sisi put off the vote after a request from Israel, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Egypt was the first 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.
The resolution would be more than symbolic since it carries the weight of international law. In the past, Obama has 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 Obama were 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.
