The Latest: Netanyahu’s office decries Kerry speech

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is denouncing Secretary of State John Kerry's Mideast policy speech, saying it was "skewed against Israel" and "obsessively" focuses on Israeli settlements. In a statement, Netanyahu's office says the speech "barely touched upon the root of the conflict - Palestinian opposition to a Jewish state in any boundaries."

Israel says U.S. pushed for U.N. rebuke

This Oct. 22, 2016 file photo, shows a general view of housing in the Israeli settlement of Revava, near the West Bank city of Nablus. JERUSALEM -- Doubling down on its public break with the Obama administration, the Israeli government said Tuesday that it had received "ironclad" information from Arab sources that the United States actively helped craft last week's U.N. resolution declaring Israeli settlements in occupied territories illegal.

Israel Says It Has ‘Ironclad Information’ That the U.S. Was…

President Barack Obama speaks to members of the media as he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. The president and prime minister sought to mend their fractured relationship during their meeting, the first time they have talked face to face in more than a year.

Israel expects more US-led moves at United Nations, official says

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, left, Secretary of State John Kerry, second from right, and National Advisor Susan Rice, right, listen while US President Barack Obama speaks during the 68th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters. Israel expects more US-led maneuvers at the United Nations critical of the Jewish state, similar to the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem which passed on Friday when the US refused to wield its veto power to nix it, and which Israel says the Obama administration orchestrated alongside the Palestinians.

John Kerry Will Lay Out Vision for Mideast Peace

Secretary of State John Kerry will lay out his vision for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a speech on Wednesday, days after the United States cleared the way for a U.N. resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements. The speech, less than a month before President Barack Obama leaves office, is expected to be the administration's last word on a decades-old dispute that Kerry had hoped to resolve during his four years as America's top diplomat.

Russia calls US move to better arm Syrian rebels a ‘hostile act’, attempt to influence Trump

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Russia Calls U.S. Move To More Easily Arm Syrian Rebels A ‘Hostile Act’

Syrians walk over rubble of damaged buildings, while carrying their belongings, as they flee clashes between government forces and rebels in Tariq al-Bab and al-Sakhour neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo towards other rebel held besieged areas of Aleppo, Syria November 28, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File Photo Moscow accused the U.S. Tuesday of a "hostile act" for taking action to more easily arm the Syrian rebels, Reuters reported Russia Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

Obama’s shameful parting shot at Israel

The United Nations stooped to a new low last week, passing a Security Council resolution with the transparent goal of delegitimizing Israel and damaging the prospects for a lasting negotiated peace with the Palestinians. The Obama administration's decision to abstain, allowing the UN's highest body to condemn Israel in such harsh and biased terms, declare settlements an illegal obstacle to peace, and call the eternal capital of the Jewish people "occupied," is unprecedented and dangerous.

Obama’s courageous, appropriate farewell shot at the Israeli settlements

The United States last week abstained vetoing a United Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements as illegal under international law. Our country has a duty and obligation to support a resilient peace in the Middle East even if it has a sincere disagreement with its close ally Israel.

Abbas eyes Paris summit after UN slams Israeli settlements

The Palestinian president said Tuesday that he hopes an upcoming Mideast conference in France will set a timetable for independence after the U.N. delivered a harsh rebuke over the construction of Israeli settlements in lands claimed by the Palestinians. Israel is meanwhile advancing plans for thousands of new homes in east Jerusalem despite the U.N. Security Council resolution.

Huckabee: UN Trying to Push Israel Into a ‘Suicide Pact’

With its resolution on Israel, the United Nations is attempting to push Israel into "accepting borders that would essentially be a suicide pact," and the Obama administration was most likely behind the vote, former Gov. Mike Huckabee said Tuesday. "Silence is agreement, and by the U.S. being silent and abstaining [from the vote], they did agree to it, and I think they helped orchestrate it," Huckabee, a strong advocate of Israel, told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.

UN Security Council Votes to End Israeli Settlements After Trump Called for Veto

The United Nations Security Council has passed a previously postponed vote to end Israeli settlements after the U.S. abstained from voting. U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power gave a statement after the vote saying that the U.S. chose not to vote on the resolution "because the resolution is too narrowly focused on settlements."

Israel plans more settlements; Abbas looks to Paris summit

A Palestinian shepherd poses for a picture as he stands on the back of his donkey, near the Israeli settlement of Argaman, in the Jordan Valley, a strip of West Bank land along the border with Jordan, Monday, Dec. 26, 2016. less A Palestinian shepherd poses for a picture as he stands on the back of his donkey, near the Israeli settlement of Argaman, in the Jordan Valley, a strip of West Bank land along the border with Jordan, Monday, ... more Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a doughnut during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016.

Israel says ‘reducing’ ties with nations over UN vote

Israel's foreign ministry said Tuesday the country was "reducing" ties with nations that voted for last week's UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to settlement building in Palestinian territory. Refuting reports that ties had been suspended, foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a message to journalists that Israel was "temporarily reducing" visits and work with embassies, without providing further details.