US was Planning to Abstain From Anti-Settlements UN Vote - Report

"The United States was planning to abstain from Thursday's vote on an Egyptian-drafted resolution at the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlements...

Sources confirmed ... the US was planning to forgo its veto and allow the vote to take place before Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi pulled out and asked for a delay, reportedly under Israeli diplomatic pressure.

The resolution, which demanded that Israel immediately halt its settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, was scheduled to be brought to a vote on Thursday afternoon.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry was planning a major address to lay out the US reasoning and vision for taking such a stance, which would have been a departure from longstanding US policy to veto one-sided resolutions at the international body targeting Israel...

Several diplomats and Western officials said the Egyptians postponed the vote due to pressure from the Israelis. Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, was meeting with Arab League diplomats later Thursday to review the text. Diplomats said there was no time frame for when the vote may now occur and said it could be put off indefinitely..."