Netanyahu tells settlers of worries of possible US action at UN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday expressed concern that US President Barack Obama, during the final days of his term in office, might take diplomatic steps that could harm the fate of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Israel is concerned that the United States might not rally to its assistance in the event that an anti-settlement resolution is put to a vote in the United Nations Security Council and that Washington might not use its veto to quash such a move.
Obama's strong opposition to settlement building on land Palestinians seek for a future state has also raised speculation in Israel that he might try to define parameters for a final peace agreement that has eluded Israel and the Palestinians since interim deals were signed in the early 1990s.
A statement from Netanyahu's office clarified that he had told settlers in a closed meeting last week he hoped Obama would not act in the same way that some previous US administrations had done at the end of their term, when they had "promoted initiatives that did not align with Israel's interests". He did not specify any examples.
