Trump urges veto of UN motion on Israel settlements

 Israeli settlers block the entrance to the the settlement outpost of Amona, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank (AFP Photo/Jack Guez)

Washington (AFP) - President-elect Donald Trump called on Wednesday for the United States to veto an Egyptian-drafted UN resolution demanding that Israel immediately halt its settlement activities in the Palestinian territories and east Jerusalem.

"The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed," the Republican said in a statement issued ahead of vote taking place later in the day.

"As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations," he said.