Nickolay Mladenov
Nickolay MladenovReuters

UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov on Friday criticized Israel, saying it has not taken steps to halt “settlement construction” as demanded by UN Security Council Resolution 2334 which was adopted in December.

"The resolution calls on Israel to take steps 'to cease all settlements activities in the occupied Palestinian territory including east Jerusalem.' No such steps have been taken during the reporting period," Mladenov told the council, according to Reuters.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, dismissed Mladenov’s remarks.

"There can be no moral equivalency between the building of homes and murderous terrorism. The only impediment to peace is Palestinian violence and incitement. This obsessive focus on Israel must end," said Danon.

The 15-member council adopted Resolution 2334 on December 23, 2016, after the United States, in one of the final moves by former President Barack Obama, abstained in the vote and allowed it to pass.

Current President Donald Trump and his UN envoy, Nikki Haley, have taken a different approach regarding the UN and have called it out over its anti-Israel bias.

The passing of Resolution 2334 was one in a series of unilateral moves by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which seeks to impose a peace agreement on Israel while bypassing direct talks.

The PA has in recent years several times initiated similar resolutions at the UN Security Council, though they have failed to pass due to the U.S. using its veto power.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)