Washington, December 29 (RHC)-- The Israeli ambassador to the United States says that Tel Aviv has "evidence" that Washington was "actually behind" what led up to a UN resolution against Israel, asserting that such information will only be given to President-elect Donald Trump.
Ambassador Ron Dermer did not let on what the evidence is or how it has been obtained when pressed in a CNN interview on Monday, stating that the future president would be notified of it when he assumes office and he will decide if the American people should know about it.
"We will present this evidence to the new administration through the appropriate channels, and if they want to share it with the American people they are welcome to do it," he said.
David Keyes, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said later that "ironclad information, frankly, that the Obama administration really helped this resolution and helped craft it, [came] from sources internationally and sources in the Arab world."
Last Friday, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2334, which demands an immediate end to "all Israeli settlement activities" in the occupied Palestinian territories. The resolution was adopted after the administration of US President Barack Obama refused to veto it, reversing Washington's longstanding policy of shielding Israel from condemnatory measures at the world body.
In his interview, Dermer attacked the United Nations, saying it always "gangs up" against the Tel Aviv regime. "It's an old story that the United Nations gangs up on Israel," Dermer said. "What is new is that the United States did not stand up and oppose that gang up. And what is outrageous is that the United States was actually behind that gang up."
"We have clear evidence of it," claimed the Israeli envoy, further saying that Shapiro was summoned because the U.S. is "the only country where we have any expectation to actually stand with us at the United Nations."
The Obama administration has rejected allegations that it was behind the UN move. "With respect to this resolution, we did not draft this resolution; we did not introduce this resolution," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said at a press conference.
"The Egyptians, in partnership with the Palestinians, are the ones who began circulating an earlier draft of the resolution. The Egyptians are the ones who moved it forward yesterday. And we took the position that we did when it was put to a vote."
The Tel Aviv regime has defied international calls to stop its illegal construction activities, with its settlement expansion being among the main reasons behind the collapse of the last round of the so-called Middle East peace talks in 2014.
Over half a million Israelis live in more than 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
