Israel temporarily suspended its working ties with the embassies of the 12 UN Security Council members after Friday’s resolution citing the country’s settlement on West Bank “illegal.”

CNN reports say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Israel’s foreign ministry to temporarily limit working ties with the members who voted in favour of Friday’s resolution. These countries are Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand.

The passage of Security Council resolution 2334 declared that Israel’s settlements in the West Bank “had no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and security.”

The suspension of working ties with the embassies of the 12 nations entails the following:

One, Netanyahu will not meet with the foreign ministers of those countries and their ambassadors will not be received at Israel’s foreign ministry.

Second, travel by Israeli ministers to those countries will also be limited and other dignitary visits.

However, Israeli officials said the report was “simply untrue” and that “we’re talking about temporarily limiting our work with embassies and regarding dignitary visits.”

What About the United States

The United States, a Security Council member, abstained on the resolution, but did not use its veto to block it. But Prime Minister Netanyahu was not happy about that.

He told his Cabinet on Sunday, “From the information that we have, we have no doubt that the Obama Administration initiated it, stood behind it, co-ordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed.”

Israel captured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza in the Six-Day War in 1967, but annexed the city as its united capital in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future State.

Many nations, including the United States, consider the settlements that Israel has built-in what it calls “occupied land” as illegal.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since late September last year following Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement activity. That decision prompted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</s>JERUSALEM : Israel has postponed this week’s visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman following a landmark UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlement building, officials said Monday.

The move was the latest by Israel targeting countries that supported Friday’s resolution which deeply angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Ukraine, currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council, in turn summoned the Israeli ambassador in Kiev for further discussion, the foreign ministries of both countries said. It was unclear when or if the visit would occur following the postponement.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed the visit had been postponed, while also issuing a statement saying that “our ambassador Eli Belotsercovsky was summoned to the foreign ministry in Kiev” over the issue. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it “expressed disappointment with the emotional reaction of individual Israeli officials and politicians concerning the vote in New York”.

It added in its statement that it wanted to continue good relations with Israel.

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have responded with especially harsh language to the Security Council resolution which passed after the United States abstained from voting.

Netanyahu has alleged that US President Barack Obama “colluded” to see the “shameful” resolution through.

By deciding not to veto the move, the United States enabled the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

There have also been reports that Israel cancelled a planned meeting at next month’s World Economic Forum in Davos between Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

It was unclear, however, whether there was any official meeting scheduled and if it was indeed called off.

British deputy ambassador to Israel Tony Kay told Israeli army radio the reports of the cancellation were a disappointment, but expressed hope for future talks.

Speaking to AFP, Kay said “we want to have conversations with our Israeli counterparts at all levels... to talk about regional and other security challenges and opportunities and to develop the very, very strong UK-Israel bilateral relationship.”

Israel summoned ambassadors of countries that voted for the resolution on Sunday - Christmas day - while Netanyahu also met with US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.

On Monday, Netanyahu defended his response to the UN vote in the face of criticism that he was overreacting, saying “we do not turn the other cheek”.

“Not only will our relations with the nations of the world not be harmed, over time they will only improve because the nations of the world respect strong countries that stand up for themselves and do not respect weak ingratiating countries that bow their heads,” he told a conference.</s>Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, on Dec. 11, 2016.

Abir Sultan / Pool via AP, file</s>Dan Shapiro had earlier been excluded from summons targeting 14 envoys of UNSC member states that voted for resolution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has summoned the US ambassador to Israel over a resolution condemning settlements on Palestinian territories.

The summons on Sunday came hours after envoys of all other UN Security Council members were asked to appear before the foreign ministry following the UN vote.

Dan Shapiro, who was excluded from earlier summons targeting 14 UNSC member states, was called to discuss the US decision to abstain, which enabled the adoption of the resolution. Ahead of the vote, Netanyahu had called on the US to block the text.

On Friday the Council passed the first resolution since 1979 condemning Israel over its settlement policy.

The resolution demands “Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem”.

It says settlements have “no legal validity” and are “dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution”.

Netanyahu has asked the foreign ministry to prepare an “action plan” to present to the security cabinet within a month over how to handle Israel’s relations with UN institutions.

“We will do all it takes so Israel emerges unscathed from this shameful decision,” Netanyahu said.

By way of rebuke of the vote, Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman also announced on Sunday that Israel was cutting civilian coordination with Palestinians.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Israel now had to choose between closing itself off or opening itself up to negotations.

“I call upon you this morning to seize the opportunity, to wake up, to stop the violence, to stop settlements and to resume negotiations,” he told Israel Radio on Sunday.

Netanyahu claims that US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were behind the resolution.

“We have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated the drafts and demanded to pass it,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of a weekly cabinet meeting.

“This is, of course, in total contradiction to the traditional American policy of not trying to impose conditions of a final resolution. And, of course, the explicit commitment of President Obama himself in 2011 to avoid such measures,” he said.

The Israeli leader said that he had told Kerry “friends don’t take friends to the Security Council”.

In addition to the pledges made on Sunday, Netanyahu cancelled his upcoming meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Planned visits to Israel by Senegal’s foreign minister and Ukraine’s prime minister were cancelled in light of those countries’ support for the UN vote.

While the resolution contains no sanctions, Israeli officials are concerned it could widen the possibility of prosecution at the International Criminal Court.

They are also worried it could encourage some countries to impose sanctions against Israeli settlers and goods produced in the settlements.

Army radio reported that Lieberman has ordered Israeli security to halt cooperation on civilian matters with the Palestinians, while retaining security coordination. Israeli officials refused to comment on the report.

The measures taken on Sunday add to Netanyahu’s order to review engagements at the United Nations, including funding for UN agencies and the presence of its representatives in Israel.

Right-wing Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said on Saturday night that Israel should “announce a full annexation of settlement blocs” in response to the resolution.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home told army radio that his party would “soon propose a bill to annex Maale Adumim”, a settlement city east of Jerusalem.</s>(CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his nation’s Foreign Ministry to temporarily limit all working ties with the embassies of the 12 UN Security Council members who voted in favor of Friday’s resolution on West Bank settlements and who have diplomatic relations with Israel, two senior Israeli officials tell CNN.

The officials said that business with the embassies of those countries — Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand — will be suspended, the officials said.

Netanyahu will not meet with the foreign ministers of those countries and their ambassadors will not be received at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the officials added.

In addition, travel by Israeli ministers to those countries will also be limited, the officials said, noting that Israeli ambassadors in the countries will still be able to continue working with the governments of their host nations.

The move came after ten ambassadors were summoned, under orders by Netanyahu, to the Foreign Ministry for a personal rebuke over the vote. Israel was furious at the passage of Security Council resolution 2334, which says its settlements in the West Bank “had no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and security.” The United States, a Security Council member, abstained on the resolution.

More than anything else, the diplomatic move to suspend embassy ties is a statement meant to express Netanyahu’s anger at the countries that voted for the resolution. It is unlikely to have any practical effect on either Israel or the other countries, as it does not affect trade, security coordination, or other aspects of the relations.

But as a statement, it is significant, and it is a continuation of Netanyahu’s diplomatic actions against countries that voted for the resolution.

Notably, it does not affect diplomatic relations with the United States, which has been the focus of much of Netanyahu’s anger. Netanyahu summoned the US ambassador and launched a scathing attack Sunday on the Obama administration.

Late Monday afternoon Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, explained his country’s diplomatic moves to CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead.”

“Israel’s not going to be kicked in the teeth and not just respond to this,” Dermer said. “We can’t just meet with visiting dignitaries as if nothing has happened. This is a serious effort against Israel.”

Dermer said Friday’s UN Security Council vote harmed long-term prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The one negotiating chip that we have at the peace table is that territory. If the UN Security Council says that territory actually belongs to the Palestinians — which it does not and which we reject — that’s going to make achieving peace actually much harder.”</s>Santa Obama delivered a wonderful Christmas present to Israel when the United States opted not to veto Friday’s United Nation Security Council vote condemning settlement policy (…) The passage of the resolution won’t result in the immediate dismantling of any West Bank settlements, but the world is beginning to come to the rescue and try to save Israeli from itself.

Friday’s UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlement policies may not result in immediate changes on the ground, but it does signal that the international community has not changed its expectations that any future peace agreement will involve an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

Santa Obama delivered a wonderful Christmas present to Israel when the United States opted not to veto Friday’s United Nation Security Council vote condemning settlement policy.

The passage of the resolution won’t result in the immediate dismantling of any West Bank settlements, but the world is beginning to come to the rescue and try to save Israeli from itself.

And the passage of the resolution by a vote of 14 in favor with one abstention – that of the United States — shows that finally the United Nations is uniting. Among the 15 votes cast, that American abstention, instead of a veto, was the most important vote cast.

About a year ago a document from Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot spelling out IDF strategy warned of worrying trends in the West. Support for the use of military force, it warned, would be more difficult to obtain and more selective and limited than in the past when it comes to maintaining Israeli control in the territories, in contrast to the defense of Israel proper.

The concerns that the IDF expressed are coming to fruition. Even without sanctions from the United Nations, European countries can now rely on Friday’s resolution, Resolution 2334, to justify disrupting Israeli wartime efforts such as delaying weapons shipments from their ports or airspace.

The failure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy with regard to the Security Council Resolution is crystal clear.

Forty-nine years and one month after the post-Six-Day War adoption of Resolution 242, which called for an exchange of territory for peace, the world, that same world, is actually not against Israel. It remains in our favor but against the millstone around our necks.

The international community is signaling that no creation of purported facts on the ground, in the form of settlement construction, will change expectations of an Israeli withdrawal as part of a peace agreement.

The settlements may be part of the domestic Israeli rules of the game, but they have no sway anywhere else in the world. Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have not received any international support.

By the same token, the Knesset could legislate that there are 25 hours in a day, and it would have the same effect for the rest of the world.

Residents of West Bank Jewish settlements such as Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg may have achieved the highest ranks of public office in Israel, but as the rest of the world sees it, these people are accessories to a violation of international norms.

As the government faces the relocation of residents of the unauthorized outpost of Amona, how will it now build alternative West Bank housing for them when any settlement construction has now been deemed as a violation of Friday’s UN Security Council resolution?

On the tactical level as well, the UN vote is a resounding defeat for the Israel government, as Netanyahu earns himself a place of infamy in the diplomatic hall of fame. This saga will become a lesson that new recruits to the Israeli foreign service will have to study in the context of how not to conduct foreign policy.

Netanyahu’s frequent digs at the Democratic Party in the United States and President Barack Obama in particular will be held against him in the long term, and shall be dredged up at the appropriate time.

Netanyahu has been playing a diplomatic chess game recently with Obama that will end in a checkmate. Netanyahu scored a temporary and illusory victory on Thursday when he lobbied to get the vote on the resolution deferred. Obama left it up to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi to decide whether his country would have the resolution put to a vote.

Netanyahu outflanked him with the help of President-elect Donald Trump, who put pressure on Sissi. The Egyptian president held back for a day, got a commitment from Trump to reexamine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but then faced the refusal of four other Security Council member states to go back on the plan.

Netanyahu made Trump look helpless, in practice extracting a promise for a more balanced policy than Trump’s proposed move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, followed by his choice of settlement advocate David Friedman as ambassador to Israel. 

 With his impulses and ignorance, Trump, a man who is dangerous to world peace and stability, sounded over the weekend like a trader hoarding his wares – the settlements in this case – only as a bargaining chip, for that major deal in the future in which he will forgo them for the right price. For the time being, however, Trump is the one barking while Obama is biting.

Netanyahu’s man in Washington, that Florida Republican turned Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, couldn’t restrain himself until January 20 and was already celebrating Trump’s victory and Hillary Clinton’s defeat.

In fact, the prime minister’s chief representatives in the United States, Dermer, UN ambassador Danny Danon and Israeli Consul General in New York Dani Dayan are all right-wing settlement supporters.

They don’t reflect the aspirations of Israelis for a peace compromise. They also haven’t had the leverage to lobby the administration to assist countries that in the past admired Israel’s power on Capitol Hill.

Israel under Netanyahu has been portrayed as an empty vessel. In one of his moments of euphoria amid the fear, Netanyahu boasted that he always gets what he wants. 

 But he wraps up his eight years with Obama with a resounding 0-2 loss in the championships against both Iran and Palestine. This is the same Netanyahu who following his oratory record as Israel’s ambassador to the UN took the Likud by storm, as the party was convinced that his Boston-Philadelphia-accented turns of phrase would charm the world.

Those were the years of the administration of Ronald Reagan and is highly pro-Israel secretary of state, George Shultz. If we are to believe the PR, they were Bibi’s best friends.

But as soon as Reagan’s vice president, George H.W. Bush, was elected president, and before he was even sworn in, Reagan and Shultz launched a dialogue with Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat.

So much for appearances.

Netanyahu has had a wealth of diplomatic experience in the course of his career of thus far, 11 years as prime minister. But he has also wrecked what little was left of the Foreign Ministry. And the combination of foolish policy and poor management are among the signs of collapse of Netanyahu’s diplomatic infrastructure. 

 Maybe Friedman, the American ambassador-designate, who was Trump’s personal bankruptcy lawyer, can provide him with some advice.

Obama assumed office with a demand for an Israeli settlement construction freeze. Netanyahu was afraid of the new president and gave in. Obama is ending his presidency in similar fashion. As expected, the president waited until after the U.S. election. 

 It would be easy to imagine what would have happened if the steps at the Security Council had been taken in September or October and had been followed by Clinton’s loss to Trump.

In more creative times under David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres, Levi Eshkol and Yitzhak Rabin, the interregnum between the election of a new leader and his taking office provided an opportunity, not only in the United States.

Peres, as Ben-Gurion’s emissary, obtained outgoing French Prime Minister Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury’s agreement to supply Israel with the nuclear reactor at Dimona. 

 As Eshkol’s representative in the transitional period between the end of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency and the beginning of Richard Nixon’s, Rabin secured Phantom jets for Israel without an Israeli commitment to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

In Netanyahu’s case, however, he’s a hawk who has little to show for himself.</s>Dan Shapiro had earlier been excluded from summons targeting 14 envoys of UNSC member states that voted for resolution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has summoned the US ambassador to Israel over a resolution condemning settlements on Palestinian territories.

The summons on Sunday came hours after envoys of all other UN Security Council members were asked to appear before the foreign ministry following the UN vote.

Dan Shapiro, who was excluded from earlier summons targeting 14 UNSC member states, was called to discuss the US decision to abstain, which enabled the adoption of the resolution. Ahead of the vote, Netanyahu had called on the US to block the text.

On Friday the Council passed the first resolution since 1979 condemning Israel over its settlement policy.

The resolution demands “Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem”.

It says settlements have “no legal validity” and are “dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution”.

Netanyahu has asked the foreign ministry to prepare an “action plan” to present to the security cabinet within a month over how to handle Israel’s relations with UN institutions.

“We will do all it takes so Israel emerges unscathed from this shameful decision,” Netanyahu said.

By way of rebuke of the vote, Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman also announced on Sunday that Israel was cutting civilian coordination with Palestinians.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Israel now had to choose between closing itself off or opening itself up to negotations.

“I call upon you this morning to seize the opportunity, to wake up, to stop the violence, to stop settlements and to resume negotiations,” he told Israel Radio on Sunday.

Netanyahu claims that US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were behind the resolution.

“We have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated the drafts and demanded to pass it,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of a weekly cabinet meeting.

“This is, of course, in total contradiction to the traditional American policy of not trying to impose conditions of a final resolution. And, of course, the explicit commitment of President Obama himself in 2011 to avoid such measures,” he said.

The Israeli leader said that he had told Kerry “friends don’t take friends to the Security Council”.

In addition to the pledges made on Sunday, Netanyahu cancelled his upcoming meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Planned visits to Israel by Senegal’s foreign minister and Ukraine’s prime minister were cancelled in light of those countries’ support for the UN vote.

While the resolution contains no sanctions, Israeli officials are concerned it could widen the possibility of prosecution at the International Criminal Court.

They are also worried it could encourage some countries to impose sanctions against Israeli settlers and goods produced in the settlements.

Army radio reported that Lieberman has ordered Israeli security to halt cooperation on civilian matters with the Palestinians, while retaining security coordination. Israeli officials refused to comment on the report.

The measures taken on Sunday add to Netanyahu’s order to review engagements at the United Nations, including funding for UN agencies and the presence of its representatives in Israel.

Right-wing Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said on Saturday night that Israel should “announce a full annexation of settlement blocs” in response to the resolution.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home told army radio that his party would “soon propose a bill to annex Maale Adumim”, a settlement city east of Jerusalem.</s>Israel’s foreign ministry said Tuesday the country was “reducing” ties with nations that voted for last week’s UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to settlement building in Palestinian territory.

Refuting reports that ties had been suspended, foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that Israel was “temporarily reducing” visits and work with embassies.

“Until further notice, we’ll limit our contacts with the embassies here in Israel and refrain from visits of Israeli officials to those states, and of visits of officials from those states here,” he told AFP.

Israel has already called back its ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal for consultations, and cancelled aid programmes with the African state.

On Tuesday, Israel informed Angola it would be freezing its aid programme there, Nahshon said.

Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as foreign minister, has asked officials to visit the countries that voted for the resolution as little as possible for now.

At least two trips have been cancelled or postponed, including this week’s visit to Israel by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and an upcoming visit by the Senegalese foreign minister.

There have also been reports that Netanyahu was calling off a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May at next month’s World Economic Forum in Davos, but there has been no official confirmation.

Deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely said Tuesday she was concerned that Israel would miss opportunities to explain its position by cancelling visits, but that she supported making clear “you can’t take Israel for granted.”

Countries should not be able to “make pilgrimages to Israel to learn about fighting terror, cyber-defence and agricultural technologies, and in the UN do whatever you want,” she told army radio.

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have responded with especially harsh language to Friday’s Security Council resolution which passed after the United States abstained from voting.

Netanyahu has alleged that US President Barack Obama “colluded” to see the “shameful” resolution through in the waning days of his administration.

By deciding not to veto the move, the United States enabled the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

Israel summoned ambassadors of countries that voted for the resolution on Sunday -- Christmas Day -- while Netanyahu also met with US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.

Security Council members such as Russia, China and Britain are key to Israeli diplomacy or trade and some analysts suggested the measures being taken were more symbolic than substantive.

The United States is Israel’s most important ally and provides it with more than $3 billion per year in defence aid.

On Monday, Netanyahu defended his response to the UN vote in the face of criticism that he was overreacting, saying “we do not turn the other cheek”.

“Not only will our relations with the nations of the world not be harmed, over time they will only improve because the nations of the world respect strong countries that stand up for themselves and do not respect weak ingratiating countries that bow their heads,” he told a conference.</s>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to have snubbed Theresa May over the UK’s support for an anti-Israel United Nations (UN) resolution attacking Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The two leaders were due to meet in Davos next month during the World Economic Forum. However, Tony Kay, the deputy chief of the British mission in Tel Aviv, told The Times this Tuesday:

“It is a disappointment that the Israeli government has announced that prime minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu does not want to have a conversation with Theresa May”.

A spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu denied that any official meeting – the pair’s first face-to-face exchange – had been scheduled.

UN Security Council Resolution 2334 was adopted on the 23 of December, after President Obama broke with convention by not using the United State’s veto to block anti-Israel action.

The resolution described Jewish settlement as a “flagrant violation” of international law, which have “no legal validity”.

The resolution is the most specific UN attack on Israel since the 1980s, and was initially prepared by Egypt until President-elect Donald Trump pressured Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to withdraw the proposal

David Keyes, a spokesperson for Mr. Netanyahu, later claimed that President Obama was behind the resolution and had helped with both “formulating and pushing” it.

Just two weeks ago, in a speech to the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) group, Mrs. May described the Jewish state as a “remarkable country,” a “beacon of tolerance,” and a “crucial” ally for Britain.

However, she did not step in to stop the UK voting against its long-standing ally in the Middle East, and pro-Israel voices within the Prime Minister’s own party have been quick to question her.

Sir Eric Pickles MP and Lord Polak CBE, CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman and Honorary President respectively, said in a joint statement:

“CFI is disappointed by the UK’s decision to support the controversial UN Security Council Resolution, which legitimises the Palestinian Authority’s attempts to internationalise the issue and avoid the necessary direct peace talks.

“In addition, the Resolution will embolden the hardline BDS movement and the ramifications for Jerusalem and Judaism’s holiest site – the Western Wall – are seriously troubling.

“CFI will be writing to the Prime Minister and seeking an urgent meeting with the Foreign Secretary to discuss the way forward”.</s>Israeli P.M Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his nations Foreign Ministry to temporarily limit all working ties with the embassies of the 12 UN Security Council members.

The order comes following Friday’s (23rd December) vote on the resolution on West Bank settlements and who have diplomatic relations with Israel

According to senior Israeli officials the business with the embassies of Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand will be suspended

They added that Prime Minister Netanyahu will not meet with the foreign ministers of those countries and their ambassadors will not be received at Israel’s Foreign Ministry while travel by Israeli ministers to those countries will also be limited, the officials said, noting that Israeli ambassadors in the countries will still be able to continue working with the governments of their host nations

The move came after ten ambassadors were summoned to the Foreign Ministry for a personal rebuke over the vote,under orders by Netanyahu

Israel was taken aback by the passage of Security Council resolution 2334, which states that the settlements in the West Bank “had no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and security.”

The United States, a Security Council member, abstained on the resolution.

The diplomatic move to suspend embassy ties was done mostly to express Netanyahu’s anger at the countries that voted for the resolution and it is unlikely to have any practical effect on either Israel or the other countries, as it does not affect trade, security coordination, or other aspects of the relations.

However as a statement, it is significant, and it is a continuation of Netanyahu’s diplomatic actions against countries that voted for the resolution.

On Sunday Netanyahu launched an attack on on the Obama administration; however it does not affect diplomatic relations with the United States, which has been the focus of much of Netanyahu’s anger.

“Israel’s not going to be kicked in the teeth and not just respond to this,” said Israel’s ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, explaining his country’s diplomatic moves

“We can’t just meet with visiting dignitaries as if nothing has happened. This is a serious effort against Israel.”

Dermer added Friday’s UN Security Council vote caused harm on the long-term prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The one negotiating chip that we have at the peace table is that territory. If the UN Security Council says that territory actually belongs to the Palestinians — which it does not and which we reject — that’s going to make achieving peace actually much harder.”
Israel's Foreign Ministry announces that it is "reducing" ties with some of the UN Security Council countries that voted to pass United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.