New York (dpa) - The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution demanding a halt to Israel‘s settlement activity in the West Bank, with no votes against, and the United States notably abstaining.The resolution calls the Israeli settlements a violation of international law and an obstacle to implementing a two-state solution.Defending the US abstention after years of vetoing similar resolutions criticizing Israel, US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said the text "reflects the facts on the ground" and "is consistent with US policy" over a number of White House administrations.Power said the settlement issue had grown more urgent, undermining Israel‘s security and "the very viability of the two-state solution." Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, the number of West Bank settlers has grown by 355,000 and now exceeds 590,000, she said.The US abstention did not in any way diminish the US‘ "steadfast support of Israel‘s security", Power said, noting that the Obama administration had provided "unprecedented" support to Israel, such as the recent historic 38-billion-dollar arms deal.Israel‘s ambassador Danny Danon said the vote was "a peak of hypocrisy. While thousands are massacred in Syria, this council wasted useful time."He asked whether council members would accept such condemnation from the UN for building in their own capitals, referring to settlements in east Jerusalem.The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said: "That the council has finally chosen to act is significant after years of paralysis." He added that "we have not been alone in our appeals" to the UN to speak out against the settlements. In 2011 the US vetoed a similar resolution on the grounds that it would harm peace talks in the Middle East. Power explained that the passed resolution contained language condemning violence against Israelis, unlike the 2011 version.The US didn‘t vote outright in favour of the resolution because it was "too narrowly focussed on settlements," Power explained, noting that even if "every single settlement" were removed, many other issues would remain to reach Mideast peace. She also chided her fellow council members for a "double standard" when being critical of Israel, which she said is consistently "treated differently" by the international diplomatic body.The resolution had originally been sponsored by Egypt and scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed and then withdrawn on Friday morning after some intense diplomacy between Israel and the United States.The Israeli government came out strongly against the measure and called upon the US to veto the resolution in the Security Council. President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement on Thursday saying the resolution "puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis."The intervention did not stop the vote however, as Malaysia, Senegal, New Zealand and Venezuela decided to move forward with the draft resolution after Egypt withdrew it.Trump took to Twitter again to offer what appeared to be his disapproval."As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.," Trump said, referring to the day he is sworn into office. Trump last week named David Friedman, who has said that he does not think Israeli settlement activity is illegal, as the future US ambassador to Israel.US President Barack Obama, with less than a month left in office, had called for a settlement freeze upon taking office in 2009, but continued expansion paved the way for sour relations with Netanyahu.The international community has long been critical of Israel‘s policies regarding settlements in the West Bank.The peace process has been long frozen, and a last attempt, led by the US and supported by several global bodies, collapsed in 2014.
