Tzipi Livni
Tzipi LivniFlash90

In a meeting in Rome Monday with United States Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu angrily rejected a unilateral Palestinian bid to set a United Nations deadline for statehood. 

He also announced his expectation that the US will use its power to veto such a move, as it has done in the past against unilateral moves it views as anti-Israel. 

The Palestinian Authority are currently carrying out a major campaign aiming to submit to the UN Security Council before the end of the year a draft resolution setting out a two- or three-year timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and "East Jerusalem." 

Meanwhile, former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who led peace negotiations with the Palestinians from 2013-2014 during the previous government, criticized Netanyahu's conduct in an interview later Monday. 

According to Livni, Netanyahu's stilted relationship with the international community had made it difficult for Israel to maintain its interests. 

However, speaking with Yediot Aharonot, Livni suggested that "it is not just Israel who will oppose the text of the proposed Palestinian bill for the UN Security Council, the American also will not be able to live with it." 

"Therefore the Palestinian version will not be advanced, and if so - it will be, in my estimation, because of an American veto." 

Yet, Livni warned that "stopping the Palestinian version [of the bill] will not be enough against the wave of nationalistic attacks anticipated."

"The task before us is to take immediate political steps to prevent the Palestinians from taking advantage of this situation. [This could manifest in them] promoting actions against us in the International Criminal Court at the Hague or preventing other international companies from preserving our interests," Livni stressed. 

"Against this wave [of terror] we need a government that knows how to act politically, that knows how to harness the world to our interest, and knows how to keep the important strategic relationship with the United States [alive and well,]" Livni outlined. 

"Today, more than ever, it is clear how important our strategic relationship with the US is."