US blamed for not condemning Israel

Fourteen members of the United Nations Security Council pointed a collective finger at the United States for blocking condemnation of Israel’s stepped-up settlement programme in Palestinian territory.

In a move which Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin called historic, diplomats from almost all regional blocs represented on the council stepped up to the microphone after closed consultations on the Middle East to condemn the lack of progress towards a solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.