Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.
Days after the United Nations voted to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, President-elect Donald Trump questioned its effectiveness Monday, saying it’s just a club for people to “have a good time.”
Trump wrote on Twitter that the U.N. has “such great potential,” but it has become “just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!”
On Friday, Trump warned, “As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th,” referring to the day he takes office.
The decision by the Obama administration to abstain from Friday’s U.N. vote brushed aside Trump’s demands that the U.S. exercise its veto and provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israel’s leadership.
Trump told The Associated Press last December that he wanted to be “very neutral” on Israel-Palestinian issues. But his tone became decidedly more pro-Israel as the presidential campaign progressed. He has spoken disparagingly of Palestinians, saying they have been “taken over” by or are condoning militant groups.
Trump’s tweet Monday about the U.N. ignores much of the work that goes on in the 193-member global organization.
This year the U.N. Security Council has approved more than 70 legally binding resolutions, including new sanctions on North Korea and measures tackling conflicts and authorizing the U.N.’s far-flung peacekeeping operations around the world. The General Assembly also has approved dozens of resolutions on issues such as the role of diamonds in fueling conflicts.