Israel needs to “stay strong” until Inauguration Day, President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday, when he vows there will be a shift in policy toward the American ally.
“We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore,” he tweeted mid-morning, ahead of a speech from Secretary of State John Kerry about his vision for the Middle East peace process. “The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!”
Trump has been on the U.N.’s case in the last week, when he pressured the Obama administration to use its veto authority from its permanent member status on the world body’s security council to block a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The American ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, ended up abstaining from the vote on Friday. It passed 14-0.
“The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time,” the president-elect said Tuesday.
Trump and the administration have engaged in awkward posturing ahead of his inauguration. The White House lashed out against Israel’s plans to ramp up construction in areas it considers off-limits in October, and its U.N. activity in the last week was met with bipartisan criticism. Trump, on the other hand, has spoken repeatedly in defense of Israel, amid reports that the nation turned to him to help it fight the now-passed resolution.
