A senior advisor for United States President Barack Obama, rejected, Monday evening, Israeli accusations about America's role in Friday's anti-Israel resolution in the United Nations Security Council. Interviewed by Channel 2 Television, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said the US did not prepare the draft originally submitted by Egypt and that it abstained rather than vetoing the resolution, consistent with what the US has told Israel.
Rhodes made it clear that no new policy initiatives related to the Middle East are likely by the end of Obama's term. However, it is important to note that at the beginning of 2017, Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to give a political speech which summarizes the American position regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict.