veto

In this Nov. 9, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP/Andrew Harnik, File)

A Palestinian man tries to stop work by an Israeli bulldozer during a protest outside the village of Deir Qaddis, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 13, 2016. Dozens of Palestinians demonstrated Wednesday in front of Israeli bulldozers that were bulldozing land outside Deir Qaddis village near Ramallah for an apparent plan to expand a nearby Jewish settlement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks as he visits a settlement construction site in Har Homa, east Jerusalem, Monday March 16, 2015.
JERUSALEM (REPORT) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. on Thursday to veto a draft United Nations resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, during official talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, May 30, 2015.

In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 photo, an Iranian pharmacist arranges medicine on shelves at a pharmacy in central Tehran, Iran. While medicine and humanitarian supplies are not blocked by the economic embargoes on Iran over its nuclear program, the pressures are clearly evident in nearly every level of Iranian health care. It’s a sign of the domino effect of sanctions on everyday life. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

There’s no doubt that the number of vetoes used at the Security Council has fallen since the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the USSR – while the number of resolutions, in particular unanimous resolutions, has grown exponentially over the same period, suggesting a co-operative and working Security Council. Yet the veto remains and arguments continue as to how and when it is used. The debate has evolved beyond national interests to include observing the letter, or the spirit, of the UN Charter, and protecting the most vulnerable at times of humanitarian crisis.

This is very telling.

"It's an example of why sometimes you have to do what's hard."

The Obama administration is openly furious about this decision.

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