US President Barack Obama has rejected Israeli allegations that he orchestrated a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In an interview with an Israeli TV channel, to be broadcast in full on Thursday, Obama said the accusations of betrayal hurled at him by US Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are politically motivated.
Obama said that the allegations against his administration “may work well with deflecting attention from the problem of settlements, they may play well with Bibi’s political base, as well as the Republican base here in the United States, but they don’t match up with the facts.”
The UN Security Council voted 14-0 last month to pass Resolution 2334, which demanded an immediate end to Israel’s “illegal” settlement activities.
The US decided to abstain – and not veto – the resolution, allowing it to be adopted. The move angered…