Rep. Tom Cole said Tuesday that he was surprised by the level of “pettiness” he saw from President Obama in the United States’ move to abstain from a recent United Nations vote condemning Israeli settlements.
“I think this was a last insult on the way out the door,” Mr. Cole, Oklahoma Republican, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I don’t think it makes the president look very well,” he said.
“And certainly to do something that you know is deliberately at odds with what the incoming president is going to do on a stage this big, I think shows a certain pettiness that I’m surprised to see in President Obama, who usually rises above these sorts of things,” he said.
On Friday, the U.S. declined to veto a resolution on Israeli settlements from the U.N. Security Council, in a move many critics saw as a direct slap at Israel. The resolution said Israel was violating international law by building settlements on territory Palestinians want as part of a future independent state.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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