Netanyahu praises Haley’s ‘resolute’ support for Israel at UN

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for her defense of Israel and attempt to condemn Hamas terrorists in a recent UN vote.

By: World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered praise to US ambassador Nikki Haley for standing up for Israel in a forum notoriously hostile to the Jewish state. Specifically, Netanyahu thanked Haley for defending Israel during the passage of a UN resolution condemning the nation.

“Israel appreciates the firm support of the Trump administration at the United Nations and Ambassador Haley’s resolute statement today, which exposed the hypocrisy of the bias against Israel at the UN,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“The unceasing focus of the United Nations in Israel shames the organization, it also diverts attention from other burning issues that require the attention of the international community,” Netanyahu added.

Notwithstanding Haley’s efforts, the UN resolution condemning Israel passed on Wednesday by a vote of 120-8, with 45 abstentions. Haley admonished the international body, whose agencies disproportionately target Israel for criticism and censure.

“The nature of this resolution clearly demonstrates that politics is driving the day. It is totally one-sided. It makes not one mention of the Hamas terrorists who routinely initiate the violence in Gaza,” Haley told the UN body.

The UN resolution was roundly criticized by Israeli leaders and their allies as an effort to pin the blame on Israel for months of Hamas-initiated violent rioting in Gaza. While Haley had attempted to add an amendment condemning Hamas, it passed by a margin too small to permit its addition to the resolution.

While the text of the resolution referred to Palestinians’ “right to peaceful assembly and protest, and freedom of expression and of association,” it made no mention of the hundreds of fires Palestinians caused in Israel territory using terror kites over the course of the last two months. These fires have decimated Israeli farmland and nature reserves causing millions of shekels in damage.

In his address prior to the vote, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also castigated the countries supporting the resolution.

“The resolution before you today does not protect innocent Palestinians. It does not protect innocent Israelis. It does not condemn, does not even mention, Hamas the internationally recognized terrorist organization directly responsible the violence in our region,” he said. “By supporting this resolution, you are colluding with a terrorist organization. By supporting this resolution, you are empowering Hamas.”