Israel fumes over UN vote to end Jewish settlements

Israel on Friday slammed the United States for not vetoing a resolution by the United Nations Security Council that urges an end to the Jewish settlements.

The rare motion, which demands an end to "all settlement activities," was passed with 14 votes in favor and one abstention.

The U.S., Israel's closest ally, traditionally protects Israel from such motions.

Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz condemned the move. "The U.S. abandoned its only friend in the Middle East," Steinitz told Channel 2 TV.

He said that he was disappointed that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry allowed such an "unfair resolution" to be approved.

Before the vote, Israeli officials accused Obama and Kerry of advancing the resolution, an allegation the White House rejected promptly.

"The U.S. administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel's back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts," an Israeli official told Xinhua on conditions of anonymity.

"This is an abandonment of Israel which breaks decades of U.S. policy of protecting Israel at the UN and undermines the prospects of working with the next administration of advancing peace," the official said.

About 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands that Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War and has been controlling ever since, despite international condemnations.

The Palestinians wish to build their future state in these lands.

The U.S. officially opposes the settlements and considers them as an obstacle to peace. The settlements are illegal under international law. Endit