Palestinian workers build new Jewish housing in the Israeli settlement Ma'ale Adumim, near Jerusalem, in the West Bank on Dec. 28. In response to a United Nations resolution condemning the settlements, Israel announced Friday it would withhold $6 million in dues to the international agency. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Israel announced it will withhold $6 million from its annual United Nations dues in protest of a resolution condemning Israeli settlements built on land disputed with the Palestinians.

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement the $6 million, out of a total $40 million in annual dues, represents the percentage his country estimates the United Nations spends supporting Palestinian causes.

"It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the U.N.," Danon said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Israel was incensed at the resolution, which passed the U.N. Security Council after the United States abstained, clearing the way for the remaining nations to vote yes. The United States has traditionally vetoed or threatened to veto Security Council resolutions aimed at curtailing Israeli settlements or placing terms on any potential peace negotiations. The abstention marked a change in the waning days of the Obama administration, as officials openly expressed frustration with their ally Israel over the lack of progress seeking a two-state solution to end years of conflict with the Palestinians.

The decision by Israel comes a day after the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Security Council resolution. President-elect Donald Trump also condemned the resolution and said the United States should have vetoed it.</s>Jerusalem : Israel said that it would cut $6 million in funding to the United Nations in 2017 in protest against a U.N. Security Council resolution that demanded an end to Israeli settlement building on land Palestinians want for an independent state.

Israel's mission to the United Nations said funding would be cut to U.N. bodies it described as "anti-Israel," including the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Division for Palestinian Rights.

U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement, “It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the U.N.</s>(AFP) UNITED NATIONS — Israel on Friday suspended about $6 million in funding to the United Nations to protest a Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlements in the West Bank

The council adopted the resolution last month after the United States refrained from using a veto to block the measure in a break from its usual practice of shielding its Middle East ally.

The cut to Israel’s $40 million annual contribution to the United Nations represented the portion of the UN budget allocated to four committees on Palestinian issues, the Israeli mission said.

“It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the UN,” Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement.

“We seek to stop the practice where the UN is used solely as a forum for unending attacks against Israel.”

The announcement came a day after the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of a measure condemning the UN stance and chastising President Barack Obama’s administration for abstaining in the Security Council vote.

The cut in funding is the first in a series of retaliatory measures that the Israeli mission said would be taken at the United Nations after the new US administration takes office.</s>Israel says it is withholding about $6 million from its annual United Nations dues, following a U.N. Security Council resolution last month calling for an end to Israel’s “settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

The United States abstained from voting on the measure, opening the way for the other 14 members of the Council to unanimously pass the resolution.

Israel’s U.N. mission said Friday the $6 million cut from its annual $40 million contribution to the world body represents funds that would be allocated to U.N. committees focused on Palestinian issues.

“It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the U.N.,” Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement.

The Israeli U.N. mission said it will take other steps aimed at “ending anti-Israel activities” after Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. president.

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution condemning the U.N. stance and criticizing President Barack Obama’s administration for abstaining in the Security Council vote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the U.S. abstention on the U.N. resolution a “shameful” swipe against Washington’s traditional ally.

Palestinians, however, have hailed the vote, with former Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat calling it “a clear and unanimous message” to Netanyahu that his policies will not lead to peace or security for Israel or Palestinians.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in settlements that most world governments view as illegal. The Obama administration has called them “illegitimate.”

Citing biblical connections to the land and modern-day security concerns, Israel claims all of Jerusalem and the West Bank, territories seized during the Six-Day War of 1967.</s>UNITED NATIONS: Israel said on Friday it would cut US$6 million in funding to the United Nations in 2017 in protest against a U.N. Security Council resolution that demanded an end to Israeli settlement building on land Palestinians want for an independent state.

The United States abstained from the Dec. 23 vote, allowing the 15-member Security Council to adopt the resolution with 14 votes in favour. Israel and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had called for Washington to wield its veto.

Israel's mission to the United Nations said funding would be cut to U.N. bodies it described as "anti-Israel," including the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Division for Palestinian Rights.

"It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the U.N.," Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement. "The U.N. must end the absurd reality in which it supports bodies whose sole intent is to spread incitement and anti-Israel propaganda."

The Israeli mission said it would move ahead with further initiatives aimed at ending anti-Israel activities at the United Nations after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war. Most countries and the United Nations view Israeli West Bank settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Israel disputes that settlements are illegal and says their final status should be determined in any future talks on Palestinian statehood. The last round of U.S.-led peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in 2014.

The Security Council last adopted a resolution critical of settlements in 1979, with the United States also abstaining.</s>Israel has announced it is cutting approximately $6m in its annual dues to the United Nations this year to protest last month’s security council resolution condemning Israeli settlements as “a flagrant violation under international law”.

Israel’s UN mission said the amount represented the portion of Israel’s contribution to the UN’s regular budget totalling more than $40m allocated “to anti-Israel bodies”.

It named the UN agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, the Division for Palestinian Rights, the committee investigating Israeli practices affecting Palestinian human rights, and information programs on “the Question of Palestine”.

“It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the UN,” Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said. “The UN must end the absurd reality in which it supports bodies whose sole intent is to spread incitement and anti-Israel propaganda.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, asked to comment, said: “We have not been informed.”

Israel’s UN mission said the cut in funding was the first in a series of steps under consideration by the foreign ministry and the mission in reaction to the recent security council resolution.

The Obama administration’s decision to abstain and allow the UN security council to approve a long-sought resolution condemning Israeli settlements as an obstacle to a two-state solution was a sharp rebuke to a longstanding ally and marked a striking rupture with past US vetoes.

Israel’s UN mission said it would move forward on additional initiatives “aimed at encouraging structural change within the UN with the ultimate goal of ending anti-Israel activities” after Donald Trump becomes US president on 20 January.

The president-elect has criticized Barack Obama’s green light for the security council condemnation.

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan resolution rebuking the United Nations for criticizing Israeli settlements and declaring unwavering support for Israel. The non-binding resolution insists that the United States reject any future UN actions that are similarly “one-sided and anti-Israel”.</s>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israel said on Friday it would cut $6 million in funding to the United Nations in 2017 in protest against a U.N. Security Council resolution that demanded an end to Israeli building on land liberated in the Six-Day War.

The United States abstained from the Dec. 23 vote, allowing the 15-member Security Council to adopt the resolution with 14 votes in favor. Israel and President-elect Donald Trump had called for Washington to wield its veto.

Israel’s mission to the United Nations said funding would be cut to U.N. bodies it described as “anti-Israel,” including the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Division for Palestinian Rights.

“It is unreasonable for Israel to fund bodies that operate against us at the U.N.,” Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement. “The U.N. must end the absurd reality in which it supports bodies whose sole intent is to spread incitement and anti-Israel propaganda.”

The Israeli mission said it would move ahead with further initiatives aimed at ending anti-Israel activities at the United Nations after Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

The U.N. Security Council last adopted a resolution critical of settlements in 1979, with the United States also abstaining.</s>(JTA) — Israel will cut approximately $6 million of its annual contribution to United Nations’ bodies it deems “anti-Israel” following the passage by the U.N. Security Council of an anti-settlement resolution.

The cuts represent “an act of protest” in response to the resolution adopted last month and target “the portion of the U.N. budget allocated to anti-Israel bodies,” said a statement Friday by Israel’s U.N. mission.

Those bodies include the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Division for Palestinian Rights, the Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, and the Special Information Program on the Question of Palestine of the U.N. Department of Public Information.

Israel’s annual contribution to the United Nations amounts to over $40 million, a spokesman for the mission told JTA in an email. The U.N.’s budget for 2016-17 totals $5.4 billion, with the U.S. being the largest contributor followed by Japan and China.

The resolution adopted last month — 14 countries voted in favor, with only the U.S. abstaining — called Israeli settlements “a flagrant violation of international law” that damage the prospects of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the resolution and said he was planning to cut Israeli aid to U.N. bodies, according to the Israeli daily Maariv.

Israel’s decision to cut funds is “the first in a series of steps under consideration by the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Mission in reaction to the recent Security Council resolution,” the statement said.

The mission is planning to move ahead with additional initiatives after Donald Trump assumes the U.S. presidency on Jan. 20. Trump had called for a U.S. veto of the resolution, and slammed President Barack Obama after the vote for treating Israel with “total disdain and disrespect.”

American presidents have long protected Israel from extreme censure at the U.N. As recently as 2011, President Barack Obama vetoed a similar resolution on settlements that, like this one, was adamantly opposed by Israel.

On Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, urged the U.S. to cut taxpayer funding to the U.N. unless the international body repeals the anti-settlement resolution, according to a statement.</s>JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - A House resolution condemning the United Nations for voting to ban Israeli settlement construction was approved with bipartisan support on Thursday.



The House voted 342 to 80 in favor of the resolution, with most Republicans and Democrats voting in favor of the largely symbolic measure.



Seventy-six Democrats and just four Republicans voted against the resolution, which is likely to be followed by a similar statement from the Senate.



The U.N. resolution was approved by the Security Council in a fourteen to zero vote after the U.S. decided to abstain.



The decision to abstain has led to widespread criticism of the Obama administration, as the U.S. has vetoed similar resolutions in the past.



House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., described the move by the U.N. as a one-sided effort designed to isolate and delegitimize Israel.



'It's time to repair the damage done by this misguided hit job at the UN. It's time to rebuild our partnership with Israel and reaffirm our commitment to her security,' Ryan said ahead of the vote in the House. 



He added, 'And it's time to show all of our allies that, regardless of the shameful events of last month, the United States remains a force for good.'



The House statement claims the U.N. resolution undermines the prospect of Israelis and Palestinians resuming productive, direct negotiations.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>The House of Representatives easily passed a statement of opposition to a United Nations resolution that condemned Israel for its expansion of Jewish settlements on disputed land.

The measure passed 342-80, garnering the support of both Republicans and Democrats, a bipartisan measure that splits with the outgoing Obama administration and sides with the incoming Trump administration on the controversial policy issue.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi opposed the measure, but House Speaker Paul Ryan defended it in a rare speech on the House floor.

"I am stunned at what happened last month. Our government abandoned our ally Israel when she needed us the most," Ryan said.

The United States abstained from voting on U.N. resolution 2334, which passed in December, causing public outrage from Republicans on the Hill and even many Democrats who broke with their president over the issue.

Related: Israeli Settlements Controversy Explained — and Why it Matters

The House resolution, which is non-binding and more of a statement, calls on the United Nations to repeal the resolution and says President Barack Obama violated long-standing policy regarding Israel, a close U.S. ally. It demands that the U.S. take no action at this month's conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The House measure also says the United Nations' condemnation of Israel is anti-Israel and will hamper the peace process because it does nothing to admonish Palestinian actions.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer both said that they back a Senate version of the measure, signifying that it will also pass the Senate.

"The proposed resolution does not bring us any closer to the goal of a two-state solution. Peace must come from direct negotiations between the two parties," Schumer said after the United Nations acted.
Israel announces it will withhold $6 million from its annual United Nations dues in protest of the December 23, 2016, Security Council settlement resolution.