• U.S. Vetoes UN Resolution Condemning U.S. Recognition of Jerusalem - Pamela Falk
  The U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution Monday proposed by Egypt and approved by the other 14 council members that called for the reversal of President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said after the vote, "We call on all countries...to learn the hard lessons of the past and work to bring Israel and the Palestinian people in good faith to the peace table."
      Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon thanked Haley for a "courageous stance." "Every other country in the world has the right to designate its capital city. But when it comes to Israel, somehow this most basic national right is questioned and condemned," he said. (CBS News)
      See also below Observations: U.S. Vetoes UN Jerusalem Resolution "in Defense of American Sovereignty" - Amb. Nikki Haley (U.S. Mission to the UN)
• New U.S. Security Doctrine Emphasizes that Israel Not the Root of Mideast's Problems
  A blueprint for U.S. national security presented by President Trump on Monday notes: "For generations the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been understood as the prime irritant preventing peace and prosperity in the region. Today, the threats from jihadist terrorist organizations and the threat from Iran are creating the realization that Israel is not the cause of the region's problems. States have increasingly found common interests with Israel in confronting common threats."
      As a "priority action," "we will work with partners to deny the Iranian regime all paths to a nuclear weapon and neutralize Iranian malign influence."  (White House)

• Hamas Moves to Curb Gaza Rocket Fire into Israel - Amos Harel
  Hamas in Gaza has in recent days arrested many Salafi militants responsible for the recent rocket launches at Israel. Hamas has sent a message through Egyptian intelligence that it seeks to avoid an escalation of the recent violence with Israel. Since Dec. 6, nearly 30 rockets have been fired at Israel, but around half fell short and landed in Gaza. (Ha'aretz)
      See also IDF Strikes Gaza after Terrorist Rocket Hits Israeli Home - Lilach Shoval
  The Israel Air Force hit several Hamas targets in Gaza overnight Monday after rockets fired from Gaza hit a home in Israel. "We will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli citizens. Israel holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for what transpires in Gaza," the IDF Spokesperson said. (Israel Hayom)
      See also Video: IDF Retaliatory Attacks on Hamas Targets - Yoav Zitun (Ynet News)
• Palestinians Are Destroying King Herod's Palace in Jericho - Nadav Shragai
  The Palestinians received the excavated site of King Herod's Third Palace near Jericho as part of the Oslo Accords. Recently it was discovered that the Palestinians had built housing around it, with some of the homes constructed on the grounds of the palace itself. The remains of the palace are being systematically demolished to construct a road. The historic edifice is being stripped of its stone, and the supporting pillars and arches have been defaced. Most of Herod's palace lies within Area A of the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority has exclusive control. (Israel Hayom)

• Abbas Is Damaging the Peace Process by Denying Jewish History in Jerusalem - Elliott Abrams
  Archaeologists keep finding more and more aspects of the Jewish past in Jerusalem in the biblical period. Like his predecessor Yasser Arafat, PA President Mahmoud Abbas is now denying any Jewish history in Jerusalem at all. I've known Abbas for 15 years and it is painful to see this man, generally viewed as a "moderate voice," descend to these depths.
      He has done it before, and then pulled back when called on it: see his speech to the European Parliament in 2016, when he said Israeli rabbis were calling for the poisoning of water wells in the West Bank and then issued a statement saying he'd been misinformed.
      Abbas is now presenting Jerusalem as a Christian/Muslim city whose only connection to the Jews is that they are lying about it and defiling it. It has never been clear to me what he expected to gain from such vile statements. If Abbas is the only, indeed best possible, Palestinian partner for peace and these are his views, what chance is there for a successful negotiation?
      The "peace process" is damaged not by decisions like the President's, which was so carefully worded and explained, but by the kind of language Abbas used. You cannot say those things and then hold yourself out as a leader committed to peace and harmonious coexistence. The writer, a senior fellow at the CFR, handled Middle East affairs at the U.S. National Security Council from 2001 to 2009. (Council on Foreign Relations)
• Half of Jerusalem's Arabs Work in Jewish Areas of the City - Matti Friedman
  Jerusalem is always said to be on the brink of catastrophe. Every act of bloodshed here is heavily covered by the media, which creates the impression that Jerusalem is a violent place, but that's misleading. If you count every violent fatality this year in this city of 860,000 - not just political violence but apolitical homicides, too - the number is 27, less than a quarter of the homicide number last year in Jacksonville, Fla., a city the same size.
      In the Talpiot industrial zone in Jerusalem, an Israeli area, of the 50 workers I counted at one of the big supermarkets, at least 2/3 were Palestinian. One cashier, a Jewish woman with a modest hair covering, was serving three Muslim women with modest hair coverings. At a SuperPharm nearby, an Arab female pharmacist was serving a Jewish woman with a prescription. It's remarkable how unremarkable it's become to see Palestinian customers or salespeople in a Jewish part of town.
      Jewish Jerusalem is drawing more and more workers from the city's Arab areas, and mixing in the workplace has dramatically increased. Nearly half of the city's Arab workers are now employed in Jewish areas and the number is rising. So is the number of Palestinian students enrolled at Israeli universities. Palestinians and Israelis might not like each other, but their fates are becoming more tightly entwined, and everyone has more to lose if things fall apart. (Globe and Mail-Canada)

U.S. Vetoes UN Jerusalem Resolution "in Defense of American Sovereignty" - Amb. Nikki Haley (U.S. Mission to the UN)

After the UN Security Council vote on the Jerusalem resolution on Monday, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said:

• "The fact that this veto is being done in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America's role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us; it should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the Security Council."
• "The President took great care not to prejudge final status negotiations in any way, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem....It is highly regrettable that some are trying to distort the President's position to serve their own agendas."
• "What is troublesome to some people is that the United States had the courage and honesty to recognize a fundamental reality. Jerusalem has been the political, cultural, and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people for thousands of years. They have had no other capital city. But the United States' recognition of the obvious - that Jerusalem is the capital and seat of the modern Israeli government - is too much for some."
• "Back in 1980, when Jimmy Carter was the American President, the Security Council voted on Resolution 478, which called upon diplomatic missions to relocate from Jerusalem....Then-Secretary of State Ed Muskie said...'In our judgment, this provision is not binding. It is without force. And we reject it as a disruptive attempt to dictate to other nations.'...The United States will not be told by any country where we can put our embassy."
• "The United States has done more than any other country to assist the Palestinian people. By far. Since 1994, we have given over $5 billion to the Palestinians....Last year, the United States voluntarily funded almost 30% of UNRWA's budget. That's more than the next two largest donors combined.... When the American people see a group of countries whose total contributions to the Palestinian people is less than 1% of UNRWA's budget...accuse the United States of being insufficiently committed to peace, the American people lose their patience."
• "What we witnessed here today in the Security Council is an insult. It won't be forgotten. It's one more example of the United Nations doing more harm than good in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Today, for the simple act of deciding where to put our embassy, the United States was forced to defend its sovereignty. The record will reflect that we did so proudly."
  

• "This week marks the one-year anniversary of the passage of Resolution 2334. On that day, in this Council, in December 2016, the United States elected to abstain, allowing the measure to pass....Given the chance to vote again on Resolution 2334, I can say with complete confidence that the United States would vote "no."...It was Resolution 2334 itself that was an impediment to peace."
• "This Security Council put the negotiations between Israelis and the Palestinians further out of reach by injecting itself, yet again, in between the two parties to the conflict. By misplacing the blame for the failure of peace efforts squarely on the Israeli settlements, the resolution gave a pass to Palestinian leaders who for many years rejected one peace proposal after another. It also gave them encouragement to avoid negotiations in the future....And the Council passed judgment on issues that must be decided in direct negotiations between the parties."
• "Talking in New York cannot take the place of face-to-face negotiations between the regional parties. It only sets back the cause of peace, not advance it. As if to make this very point, Resolution 2334 demanded a halt to all Israeli settlement activity in east Jerusalem - even in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This is something that no responsible person or country would ever expect Israel would do."
• "To the United Nations' shame, this has been a disproportionately hostile place for the Middle East's most enduring democracy. The United States refuses to accept the double standard that says we are not impartial when we stand by the will of the American people by moving our U.S. embassy, but somehow the United Nations is a neutral party when it consistently singles out Israel for condemnation."