Secretary of State Nominee Criticizes U.S. Decision to Abstain From U.N. Israel Vote

"[At his Senate confirmation hearing, Secretary of State nominee] Rex Tillerson condemned the Obama administration's decision not to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution critical of Israel's development of settlements on the West Bank.

The former ExxonMobil chief said the resolution was 'not helpful' and 'undermines' the conditions for peace talks to continue. He described Secretary of State John F. Kerry's subsequent speech criticizing Israel as 'quite troubling.'

He also suggested the onus was on the Palestinians to make a 'serious demonstration' of good faith toward negotiations before there could be a discussion about stopping settlement construction...

Tillerson said it was important for the United States to recommit to its alliance with Israel, which he said 'is, was and always has been our most important ally' in the Middle East.

Again criticizing Palestinians, Tillerson said that 'there have been many many opportunities for progress to be made and those have never been seized upon.'"