Israel Lobbying Trump, Clinton to Blunt Potential UN Action

"Senior government officials have reached out in recent weeks to advisers close to former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and real estate tycoon Donald Trump to begin lobbying against the prospect that President Barack Obama will join an international peace effort in his final days in office, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Israel is concerned Obama will try to pass a UN Security Council resolution during what is known as the 'lame duck' period – the time between the election on November 8 and the next president's inauguration on January 20. Obama would no longer need to consider whether his actions would complicate the electoral prospects of the Democratic candidate for president, who is likely to be Clinton...

Independent of her success, those officials told the Post that Obama is less supportive of a resolution on Middle East peace at the Security Council than he is opposed to an automatic veto for Israel at the council – in other words, nothing is guaranteed.

The more likely path forward in the coming months would be a hallmark policy speech by Obama on the urgent need for peace in which he hints at Israel's complicity in perpetuating the conflict, officials say. The speech could be paired with US engagement on the French initiative to convene international powers on the matter.

But without explicit assurances from the administration that it will veto France's proposed parameters resolution in the Security Council, Israel remains concerned Obama may ultimately choose to buck Clinton and launch an 11th-hour effort...

One scenario being tossed around in Jerusalem is that Obama will allow the French to continue with their current peace initiative, but then commandeer control of it after November and pass his own UN resolution in its place.

By reaching out to associates of the two presumptive main party candidates for president, Israel is hoping whoever wins in November will be able to restrain Obama from taking such diplomatic action..."