WASHINGTON - GOP Congressional leaders on Friday urged US President Joe Biden to veto the upcoming UN vote on Israel Settlement activity. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise sent a letter to Biden on Friday, urging him to instruct the US Mission to the UN to vote against the proposed resolution.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday ahead of the vote. The State Department, however, did not provide information on whether it would veto the proposal. The two "reaffirm[ed] the US commitment to a negotiated two-state solution and opposition to policies that endanger its viability," the State Department said in a statement.
"The Secretary underscored the urgent need for Israelis and Palestinians to take steps that restore calm and our strong opposition to unilateral measures that would further escalate tensions," the statement reads. "Secretary Blinken and President Abbas also discussed efforts to improve the quality of life of the Palestinian people and enhance their security and freedom.
“As the UN Security Council once again moves to consider another one-sided, biased, anti-Israel resolution, it is imperative that the United States maintain its position that only direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians can yield progress,” the lawmakers wrote. “For this reason, we urge your Administration to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose and veto any anti-Israel action, including resolutions, at the UN Security Council.”
Senate Republicans, too, called on the administration to veto the resolution. “The Biden Administration must use its veto in the UN Security Council to defend our ally Israel, tweeted James Risch, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “This resolution will not lead to peace and only furthers anti-Israel actions at the UN,” Risch tweeted.
Senator Bill Hagerty wrote that, “rather than focus on grave threats posed by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, the UN continues its anti-Israel obsession.”
“Biden should stand with Israel and veto this resolution. Do not repeat the shameful Obama-Biden abstention on UNSCR 2334 in December 2016.”
State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Thursday that a United Nations draft resolution that would call on Israel to immediately and completely cease settlement activities is “unhelpful,” adding that the administration doesn't “view the UN as the most practical or useful forum for discussing this issue.”
He avoided, however, giving an answer on whether the administration would veto the resolution.
During the State Department’s daily briefing, Patel said that the US remains “focused on supporting the conditions necessary to advance the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
The administration's belief, he said, was that this is “the only path to a sustainable end to the conflict, and we continue to engage with all parties on this.”
“The introduction of this resolution is unhelpful in supporting the conditions necessary to advance negotiations for a two-state solution,” said Patel. “We are aware of the introduction, and we’re coordinating closely with our partners in New York on next steps.”
State Dept. stops short of confirming US is prepared to veto resolution
Asked if it meant that the US is ready to veto the resolution, Patel replied that he didn’t want to get ahead of the process. “We are coordinating closely with our partners in New York and are assessing our next steps,” he said. “But when I say that it is unhelpful, we have been clear as it relates to both the Israelis and the Palestinians.”
“Our viewpoint has always been that both sides should avoid taking steps that puts us further away from a two-state solution and further incites tensions, which these are the kinds of actions that do that.”
Vedant Patel, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson
“Our view is that the introduction of this resolution was unhelpful in supporting the conditions necessary to advance negotiations of a two‑state solution, just like we believe that the news out of Israel on Sunday was unhelpful and something that would further incite tensions as well,” he continued. “And our viewpoint has always been that both sides should avoid taking steps that [sic] puts us further away from a two-state solution and further incites tensions, which these are the kinds of actions that do that.”
Patel also said that the administration doesn't “view the UN as the most practical or useful forum for discussing this issue, and that this is something that the two sides need to discuss and engage and negotiate and work on among themselves and that steps like settlement activity, steps like the introduction of such a resolution are unhelpful and put us further away from a negotiated two-state solution, which has been our consistent viewpoint in where we would like this to end.”