Israel’s Foreign ministry has suspended all “working ties” with the countries that voted to pass a resolution condemning Israeli settlements.
Foreign ministers and ambassadors from Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand will not be received at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, according to reports.
Breaking: #Israel suspends “working ties” with all 12 nations who voted for UN resolution on settlements – sources tell @eliselabottcnn
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 26, 2016
They will also no longer be able to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The move is per Netanyahu’s request, and comes after he summoned the ambassadors of 10 of the 12 countries to reprimand them for being part of the 14-0 vote Friday by the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements, the Times of Israel reported.
Israeli ambassadors in the 12 countries will be permitted to continue to work with the governments of their host countries, an official said.
Netanyahu also on Sunday summoned U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro for “clarifications” over the U.S.’s failure to use its veto power against the United Nations resolution. The U.S. abstained from voting in a move Netanyahu called “ambushing” Israel at the U.N.
The Israeli government has also said it has proof that the Obama administration helped push the vote on the U.N. resolution, a claim the White House has denied.
“We have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed,” Netanyahu said Sunday.
