“The resolution fails to account for Israel’s legitimate security needs, and the satisfaction of those needs, of course, is integral to a sustainable settlement.”

The Palestinian unilateral diplomatic move to gain statehood at the UN is not constructive towards a real peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said on Monday.

During the daily briefing, a reporter queried Rathke regarding Israeli Minister Yuval Steinitz’s statement that day that Israel must “act with force” against the PA if the Authority goes through with the move.

Rathke responded by saying that the U.S. is not supportive of this aggressive Palestinian diplomatic maneuver. “I would say that, again, we don’t think this resolution is constructive. We think it sets arbitrary deadlines for reaching a peace agreement and for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], and those are more likely to curtail useful negotiations than to bring them to a successful conclusion,” he stated.

Rathke conceded that the Palestinian resolution to force Israel to “end its occupation” of Judea and Samaria by the end of 2017 is harmful to Israel’s security. “Further, we think that the resolution fails to account for Israel’s legitimate security needs, and the satisfaction of those needs, of course, is integral to a sustainable settlement,” he explained.

Rathke reiterated that “we don’t believe this resolution advances the goal of a two-state solution,” which the U.S. officially supports as the solution to the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Reports indicate that if the resolution is submitted to the UN Security Council (UNSC), the U.S. will stand by Israel and veto it.

Israel Will Reject UN Diktat, Netanyahu Declares

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed again on Monday that Israel absolutely rejects any forced resolution by the UNSC.

Netanyahu stated, during a meeting with Indiana Governor Mike Pence, that “Israel and our civilization are under attack. The attacks come from Iran; the attacks come from the various Islamists. The attack is now coming on Israel from the Palestinian Authority seeking to impose on us a diktat that would undermine Israel’s security, put its future in peril.”

The prime minister demanded that the international community stand with Israel in repelling this attack. “We expect the international community, at least the responsible members of that community, to oppose vigorously this UN diktat, this UN Security Council resolution, because what we need always is direct negotiations and not imposed conditions. But I want to guarantee you, to you and to the people of Israel: If the international community does not reject the Palestinian Authority’s proposal, we will. Israel will oppose conditions that endanger our future.”

Pence spent Christmas in Israel with his family as part of a nine-day vacation, which includes work meetings with government officials and business leaders.

US Governor Rejects Invitation from Abbas

Caroline Glick, a senior editor at The Jerusalem Post, revealed in a Facebook post that Pence was invited by PA head Mahmoud Abbas to the PA’s annual Christmas dinner in Ramallah. He was notified that a car would be sent to pick him up and bring him to Abbas’ office for an “unscheduled and unsolicited meeting.” Pence turned the offer down.

By: United with Israel Staff