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The United Nations Security Council was expected to vote on Monday on a resolution condemning Israeli settlements and calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory,” according to Reuters.

That vote did not take place, according to news sources, because of intense diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration. But those efforts only downgraded the condemnation of Israel from a Security Council resolution to a "presidential statement" which carries less force, while offering PA President Mahmoud Abbas several enticements.

The Times of Israel reports that Israel agreed to temporarily suspend authorizing additional settlement homes and hold off on demolishing the homes of Palestinian terrorists for several months.

The US supported the Security Council statement against Israel. In addition:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told [Abbas] that the US would invite him to meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House later this year, a Palestinian official said.

Meanwhile, a US official and a Mideast diplomat told The Times of Israel last week that the Biden administration put on hold plans to extend a White House invitation to [Benjamin] Netanyahu…

The Biden administration has gone to great lengths to avoid the decision of whether to veto the anti-Israel resolution as proposed, instead choosing to support an equally biased and anti-Israel statement while touting its diplomatic "success." The pro-Israel community is not fooled.

There was a great deal of news regarding Israel this week. We recommend the following articles for your attention:

FDD: Sen. Cotton Legislation Seeks to Expedite Efforts to Strengthen Israel’s Security

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced new legislation on Thursday to expedite Israel’s ability to operate its own KC-46 refueling aircraft in support of potential combat operations, including against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The legislation represents a laudable effort to ensure the Pentagon is taking proactive steps to reduce or eliminate any delays between Israel’s receipt of their own KC-46s and the aircraft’s availability for real-world operations.

Fox News: Sen. Hagerty Slams Biden Plan for Palestinian Consulate as 'Affront' to Israel, 'Bizarre' Act of Diplomacy

"I oppose President Biden’s controversial proposal to reopen a consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem," Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. "A second competing US diplomatic mission would be an affront to Israel and would be a bizarre act of 'diplomacy' to install a diplomatic mission over the objection of the host nation."

Bryen: Biden's Middle East Team Needs To Grow Up

Israel's real-life, adult experiences have led its people and its government to grow up. But [US Ambassador to Israel Thomas] Nides, in pursuit of a comprehensive deal with both Palestinians and Iranians bent on Israel's destruction and his unrealistic attachment to the dead Oslo Accords, is way behind.

Wisse: God Save This Honorable Court, but Not That One
Leftist elites declaim against the power of the US Supreme Court while trying to preserve judicial supremacy in Israel.

Schanzer: What Would a Third Intifada Mean for Palestinians
The young Palestinians who welcome [a new] intifada are too young to remember the last one. A 20-year-old today would have been just two years old when it ended. And crucially, few Palestinians remember that all three uprisings were disasters for their people.

WFB: State Department Gives $41K to Charity That Partners With Terrorists

The State Department is funding a project to train Palestinian journalists that will be carried out by a charity that has partnered with terrorist groups, according to grant records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

CNN reported on remarks by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro at the National Press Club this week comparing Chinese and US naval capabilities. It doesn’t look good for the US:

"They got a larger fleet now so they’re deploying that fleet globally," he said, adding that Washington must upgrade the US fleet in response.

"We do need a larger Navy, we do need more ships in the future, more modern ships in the future, in particular that can meet that threat," he said.

China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy could be fielding up to 400 ships in the coming years, the Navy secretary said – up from about 340 now.

Meanwhile, the US fleet sits at under 300 ships.

… "They have 13 shipyards, in some cases their shipyard has more capacity – one shipyard has more capacity than all of our shipyards combined. That presents a real threat," he claimed.

Seeing the US through Emirate eyes

Walter Russell Mead writes: "As a small country with ambitious neighbors and global commercial interests, they wholeheartedly support a Pax Americana that keeps small countries safe and makes the world safe for trade. Capitalism, that unmatched engine for creating wealth, also commands their respect. But American liberal ideology strikes them as dangerous, even fatal…"

America’s choice in Ukraine

This Wall Street Journal editorial states: "Mr. Putin’s goal is unchanged: Control most or all of Ukraine, and incorporate it into his greater Russian empire. He still thinks he can outlast the Ukrainian government and its Western supporters. Many in the US and Europe are ready to head to a negotiating table, but Mr. Putin is not. The only settlement he has in mind is Ukraine’s surrender... The fastest route to peace then is defeating Mr. Putin, which the Biden Administration still seems reluctant to admit."

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