Israeli President Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin responded on Saturday night to Friday's UN Security Council Resolution by announcing his intention to light the third night's Hanukkah candles in the Binyamin Region town of Beit El.
"A united Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, and it will remain our capital. No international body can undermine that fact," Rivlin said.
"This embarrassing, grave, and unfortunate decision was made by the UN in order to harm Israel politically. This decision does not bring negotiations with the Palestinians any closer, and in fact pushes them farther away. There will never be any replacement for direct negotiations between two sides," Rivlin emphasized.
"We expected the US, our greatest ally and friend, who has stood beside Israel and helped us with our security needs uncompromisingly for so many years, to stand beside Israel now, as well. We expected the US not to throw Israel into the hands of a cynical international group with interests foreign to Israel's. This year, I will light the third Hanukkah candle in Beit El, together with Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria," he concluded.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) wrote on his Facebook page, "As Hanukkah begins, we wish to remind the UN Security Council and the rest of the world that the first Hanukkah menorah was lit two thousand years ago, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem."
"Jerusalem, like every other place in Judea and Samaria, is at the heart of Jewish culture. All of Israel belongs to us, for now and forever. No vote in the UN or elsewhere will change that fact. In another 2000 years, when no one remembers the UN vote, we will still be lighting a Hanukkah menorah in Jerusalem."