Trump: U.S. Abstention on Anti-Israel Security Council Resolution was "Terrible" and Makes Peace Harder

"US President-elect Donald Trump said his prospects of negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian deal during his presidency have been hampered by the fact that the international community has been 'giving so much' to the Palestinians.

Speaking to The Times of London and Germany's Bild just days before his inauguration, Trump further said the December UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements would only serve to harden Palestinians' ideological positions in future peace talks.

'The problem I have is that [Resolution 2334] makes it a tougher deal for me to negotiate because the Palestinians are given so much - even though it's not legally binding it's psychologically binding and it makes it much tougher for me to negotiate,' he said. 'You understand that? Because people are giving away chips, they're giving away all these chips.'...

During the interview, Trump leveled harsh criticism at outgoing President Barack Obama's policies toward Israel, calling the US abstention from the vote on December 23's Security Council Resolution 2334 'just terrible.'

He urged the UK to veto any new resolutions critical of Israel, because 'I'm not sure if the US would do so - extraordinarily enough...'"