TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations after the approval of a Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli construction in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.
“I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel,” Netanyahu stated in broadcast remarks.
“I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel … and there is more to come,” he said.
In a message sent to Breitbart Jerusalem, Netanyahu’s office outlined a series of diplomatic steps Israel took against New Zealand and Senegal, two of the countries that pushed the Cairo-introduced resolution after Egypt requested a delay following criticism on the matter from the Israeli leader and President-elect Donald Trump.
According to the list, Netanyahu:
- Instructed Israel’s ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to immediately return to Israel for consultations.
- Ordered the cancellation of the planned visit to Israel of the Senegalese foreign minister in three weeks.
- Instructed the Foreign Ministry to cancel all aid programs to Senegal.
- Ordered the cancellation of visits in Israel of the non-resident ambassadors of Senegal and New Zealand.
The text of the resolution repeatedly and wrongly refers to the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem as “Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.” The Western Wall and Temple Mount plaza are located in eastern Jerusalem. In actuality, the Palestinians never had a state in either the West Bank or eastern Jerusalem and they are not legally recognized as the undisputed authority in those areas.
Jordan occupied and annexed the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem from 1948 until Israel captured the lands in a defensive war in 1967 after Arab countries used the territories to launch attacks against the Jewish state. In 1988 Jordan officially renounced its claims to the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.
The text of the resolution declares that the Israeli settlement enterprise has “no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”
It calls for Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.