US Blocks UNSC Rebuke of Israel Demolishing Palestinian Homes
US Blocks UNSC Rebuke of Israel Demolishing Palestinian Homes
Diplomats said a proposal by members of the UN Security Council to condemn Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes was blocked, with the US rejecting the language of the resolution, and then rejecting an alternative text.

The US has long used its veto power at the UN Security Council to prevent formal criticism of Israel. The proposal was offered by Kuwait, Indonesia, and South Africa, and is believed to have been broadly accepted, outside of the US, media reports said.

In general, objections to specific parts of the text can be used to delay votes, but are meant to solicit a watered-down version. It’s not clear why the US didn’t just veto the proposal in the first place.

US officials generally will veto anything that Israel does not like at the UN Security Council, and then follow it up with angry statements about how awful the UN is in general.

Bulldozers accompanied by hundreds of Israeli police and soldiers moved into Sur Baher, a village on the outskirts of Jerusalem al-Quds, on Monday.

The demolition is the latest round of protracted wrangling over the future of al-Quds, home to more than 300,000 Palestinians.