The World

Neither Israel nor Hamas seem particularly inclined to heed the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The Israelis, in particular, tend to shrug off condemnation by the UN, which they regard as an incorrigibly anti-Israeli body. You can understand why. The UN Human Rights Council, for example, has adopted far more resolutions condemning Israel than any other country. Both Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon have criticised the council for singling out Israel.

That said, I think Israel will still view Thursday night’s Security Council resolution with some concern for a couple of reasons. The Security Council is the serious bit of the UN. And it is hard for Israel to dismiss the UN altogether – after all, its owes its very existence as a state to UN resolutions.

But the most significant thing about the UN resolution was that, as the FT’s Tobias Buck puts it – “for the first time in many years, the US declined to veto a Security Council resolution opposed by Israel.” And that’s even before the Obama administration takes power.

Any weakening in American support for Israel at the UN would be a significant departure.  Some US ambassadors to the UN have become famous for their staunch support of Israel – Daniel Moynihan was a particularly strong example in the 1970s, and Jeanne Kirkpatrick and John Bolton were also dogged supporters. Susan Rice, Obama’s ambassasdor to the UN, will certainly hew to a pro-Israeli line. But I doubt that she sees herself making her mark by last-ditch defences of the embattled Jewish state. Thursday’s vote might be a sign of the coming times.