funding to the u.n. that's going to be a confrontation if the trump administration decides to join that battle. looks like they just might. we're going to be facing a period of contentiousness where the united states tries to pressure the u.n. into making big changes in the way it does business by withholding dues. the last time that happened it got very, very ugly. that's what we're looking at. >> certainly does not look like a party there over at the u.n. security council. josh rogin, rebecca berg, thank you, really appreciate it. >>> and still to come -- brawls breaking out at malls in a dozen states from colorado to connecticut. >>> a meltdown at malls across the country as brawls break out in several states. over a dozen incidents reported. several of them are forced to evacuate or lock down after false reports of shots fired sent shoppers running. our own sara sidner is live in los angeles. just tell us what's happening, ways going on. >> that's a good question, what the heck is going on. mayhem fr

the u.n. for it to really have any teeth. that's where president-elect donald trump has promised to protect israel at the u.n. it could be at least four years, possibly more, possibly much more before it has any effect on the palestinian conflict. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said. he says he will re-evaluate the status of u.n. representatives here and canceling israeli funding totalling nearly $8 million and fired off one of the harshest criticisms we have ever seen from an israeli administration pointed as president barack obama. as have many others accused president obama of being anti-israel and allowing this to pass. many of the israeli ministers said, the right-wing said, the proper response should be more building in the settlements and annexation, for parts or all of the west bank. that would fly immediately in the face of the security council resolution. >> it sure would. it is an indication that perhaps it could backfire, which is what a lot of critics of the resolution are

trump taking aim at the u.n. at the anti-israel resolution. saying this, the u.n. has great potential, but it is just a club for people to get together and talk and have a good time. so sad. >>> there is more. trump taking credit for the busy holiday shopping season. the world was a gloomy place before i won. there was no hope. now the market is up nearly 10% and christmas spending is over $1 trillion. no sourcing on that $1 trillion number. the national retail federation projects $655 billion. a go trump announcing plans to dissolve the charity and avoid any conflict of interest. i gave millions of dollars to djt foundation. raised and received millions more. all of which is given to charity and media won't report. the djt foundation, like most others never paid fees or rent or salaries. 100% of money goes to wonderful charities. trump, it's worth noting, has not donated to the foundation since 2008. a non tweeted development trump aides will write the inauguration speech. he wrote many during the campaign. the address will be similar to the stump and thank you sp

that this u.n. situation has sort of engendered even more bipartisan support than donald trump could have hoped for on an issue like this. >> senator schumer has been outspoken against the u.n. resolution. there are many -- very strongly pro israel members of congress and amongst the american public who are registered democrat. it's important for the democratic party to decide what the future ideology should be like but it should be bipartisan, strongly supporting our nation's greatest ally. >> congressman, thank you so much for joining me. happy hahn nukkah to you. >> thank you. >> ahead, terror threats, the feds giving warnings as americans gather to celebrate christmas and hanukkah. the very latest on what the fbi has learned. plus, new precedence, president-elect donald trump diving into international relations before taking office. how is the world handling what feels like two presidents with very different agendas. later, the countdown is on. you see him there. that guy in red making his trek

the u.n. vote, u.n. security council vote was widely soon ee a parting shot from the obama administration. is this speech another parting shot? >> i don't know if it's entirely that petty or that sort of focused just on this moment but it is certainly a legacy statement. both president obama, john kerry, hillary clinton for that matter, architects of the obama foreign policy over the last eight years, they want to make a statement about what they intended and if you go back to the cairo speech from 2009, when he tried to reset, the president tried to reset the relationship, the entire muslim world, one part of that entire doctrine was to try and make the peace process move forward to try and take it off the table as an irritant, as a rallying point for jihad and radical extremists. that was what they wanted at a minimum. looks like they didn't even accomplish that minimum. i think they will try to make the case that what they did made sense and that while they failed, it wasn't entirely sort of a bad ide

the other thing is, our u.n. ambassador, samantha powers, spent most of her explanation of the abstention explaining why the u.n. is exactly the wrong institution to be dealing with anything on israel -- that's the problem we have here, and that's why people are so enraged here. >> her original speech was a veto speech, and she changed some parts of it at the last minute. if you read the entire speech, it sounds to me like it was a speech designed to veto, and then she was told at the last minute no, we're pulling the prug and not vetoing. read the speech carefully. >> explain the timing and politics behind this, what is your view and what are lawmakers telling you the goal of the obama administration was doing this weeks away from the inauguration day when a president is coming in who has a different approach to israel than obama. >> the timing is not a coincidence. over a year ago, president obama himself asked staffers to come up with a list of possible things they could do on their way out on the israeli-pale

has been planning to vote on this u.n. resolution, the u.n. security council resolution condemning the settlement activity illegal. usually the u.s. for years has kind of protected israel at the u.n. security council but we understand that president obama was prepared to let that resolution pass, either by abstaining or by voting in favor of it. the israelis have been watching what has been happening for weeks and they have been warning the obama administration not to do that, imploring them really. and said, listen, if you don't stop this resolution, if you plan on letting it go ahead, we're going to have no choice but to reach out to president-elect trump and an israeli official told me that's just what the israeli government did. they reached out to the president-elect, asked him to intervene. you saw today president-elect trump issuing a statement, calling on the u.s. to veto this resolution, saying it was not helpful to israel and we do understand that there was a call between president-elect trump and egyptian president fattah el sisi an

the u.n. has such great potential but right now it is a club for people to get together, talk, have a good time. so sad. it will be back to business here at mar-a-lago. donald trump will be holding several meetings today. we're still waiting to hear who exactly he'll be meeting with. as we tick down the days towards the inauguration on january 20th, we're still looking at a few more key cabinet posts that donald trump needs to fill. we're looking at director of national intelligence that he still hasn't named his nominee for as well as secretaries for agriculture as well as veterans affairs. a bit to watch. poppy. >> keeping us on our toes. jessica schneider. thank you. >>> meantime, israel is temporarily suspending working ties with a dozen nations that voted in favor of the u.n. resolution condemning israeli settlements. this move comes amid increased tension from benjamin netanyahu and president obama. oren lieberman is live with us. what's the latest? >> reporter: prime minister benjamin n

israel's u.n. ambassador said in a statement he expected his country's "greatest ally to act in accordance with the values we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution." and he said he hopes the trump administration will be more sympathetic. the vote brought to head a standoff between the current and future presidents over middle east peace. it was initially played after a diplomatic scramble by netanyahu, who cnn has learned reached out to president-elect donald trump to intervene. when trump called for a u.s. veto, the egyptian president, whose country sponsored the resolution, took a call from trump and then put the vote on hold. today, other members reintroduced it. behind the scenes, officials complained trump's interference runs afoul of the long standing tradition that a president-elect does not interfere with an outgoing president's administration, especially in foreign policy. but publicly, the state department has appeared unfazed. >> nobody here felt boxed in by a

>> well, it's the move of the u.n. was really anti-peace and to affirm a two-state solution and the co-existence between the two cities and not to affirm the long-standing u.s. policy, i would understand your question. but it was to save us and israel and craft our way towards the future. if you read the resolution, will you find out that this is the best for both palestinians and israelis. the problem is that if netanyahu argues that the u.n. security council, the highest political and legal entity in the world, is the place that should not discuss international issues, then we should dismantle the u.n. altogether. >> well, the fact that you said that is -- it may not be dismant dismantled, the idea is being discussed, at least withholding funds from the u.s. which is a big chunk of their budget. i want to play something that lindsey graham said yesterday. saying he's not only going to withhold the charge to withhold money to the u.n. and to you, palestinians. he talked about a u.s. citizen in his home state. take a l

ambassador to the u.n. power said basically this is long-standing, our policy has not changed in terms of that. i do want to bring up from lindsey graham said he would introduce a bill to pull u.s. funding for the u.n. unless the resolution is appealed. writing in a statement that the u.s. has empowered evil and been a poor friend of democracy. as a former director and ambassador, when other countries see this in fighting and see the fact that we have a president-elect speaking out on things while a current president is speaking out on things, how does that play when we see an administration and a country so publicly divided? >> well, you know, division and scrapping is kind of the nature of things for us. madison intended it that way. we've gone since the spring of 1789 every four years having elections and having a stable system and it's stable because we argue with one another all the time and we have checks and balances. i think what is really troubling here is not that we're arguing with one another, b

would consider pulling funding for the u.n. netanyahu announced after the vote that israel would cut funding to five u.n. organizations totally $8 million. he also said israel would reconsider relationships with the u.s. representatives working here and promised more steps may be ahead. >> and taking waway the funding could be a big deal. the u.s. funds 22% of the u.n. oren, thank you. >>> 25 days until donald trump takes office. the president-elect is moving to address potential conflicts of interest in the administration. that includes dissolving the charitable foundation that bears his name. it appears the plan is already hitting a legal snag. we get more from cnn's jeremy diamond. >> reporter: good morning, joe and alison. president-elect trump is staying at his mar-a-lago residence in palm beach, florida. he has nothing publicly scheduled. that comes after the weekend where he spent the christmas weekend with his family and attended christmas eve services at a church here in palm beach, florida. on saturday, he did make a

bush allowed multiple u.n. resolutions -- >> that's all false. >> that's not false -- >> i am going to tell you the facts. my history goes back beyond brexit. what happened was in president bush's waning days of his administration there was a resolution that had to deal with the end of the war in gaza and israel acquiesced to that resolution. we're never happy with security council resolutions -- >> so you're saying it didn't happen? >> not only -- >> you're saying it didn't happen? it did happen. >> no i said that it did happen but israel acquiesced to it. look at the time what israel said in response to it, and you'll see -- >> so my question is -- >> the last time -- >> -- for president obama when it happened since 1967, technically since 1967, consecutive u.s. administrations starting with lyndon johnson and continuing through george w. bush they've made it clear to their opposition against the settlement. again the question is why do -- >> we're -- >> i will let you answer. why the ire for president obama

ambassador to the u.n. said it wasn't their number one choice, but given how far the settlement population had grown, they felt this was what they had to do. netanyahu made his anger clear over this. >> oren liebermann in jerusalem, thank you. >>> here at home, 25 days until donald trump taking office and the president-elect is moving to address conflicts of interest in the administration. that includes dissolving the foundation that bears his name. it appear it is is hitting a legal snag. let's get more now from jeremy diamond. >> reporter: good morning. president-elect trump is staying at mar-a-lago here at palm beach, florida. he has nothing publicly scheduled. that comes after this weekend where he spent the christmas holiday with his family. he attended christmas eve services at a church here in palm beach, florida. on saturday, he made a bit of news. president-elect announcing in a statement he plans to shutter the trump foundation. the foundation in his name. that may be a little bit easier said than

trump tweeting that the u.n. has such great potential, but right now it's just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. and it will be back to business here at mar-a-lago today after that short christmas break. the president-elect holding several meetings today. we're still looking to hear exactly who he'll be meeting with, but of course some key cabinet posts that we're still waiting to hear about. they include the director of national intelligence as well as secretaries of both agriculture and veterans affairs. so waiting to hear on that and of course inauguration day rapidly approaching january 20th. poppy and don? >> getting close. thank you very much. let's get our discussion started with our panel. senior congressional correspondent for "the washington examiner," david drucker, and cnn contributor and "new york post" columnist selena zito. let's talk about this, about who would win now. we will never know who would win now, would we? >> no, this is part of life. there's a lot o

what this u.n. security council resolution did is it basically ceded that territory to the palestinians. it says it's yours. so let me ask you, why would the palestinians negotiate with us if the world is saying all that territory is yours? >> in fact, there's a -- i'll read you a statement from the palestinian liberation organization. the minute the israeli government agrees to cease all settlement activities and agrees to implement side agreements, the palestinian leadership -- do you accept that -- >> the minute israel says that the western wall is occupied palestinian territory, they'll agree to sit down and negotiate. you have to understand this administration has been obsessed with the issue of settlements since day one. this is not new. kerry spoke about all these things that have happened. the israeli coalition, laws that were passed in the israeli knesset. i remember what happened in 2009. in the first months of this administration, they had a crisis with us on the issue of settlements, whi

you'll remember that tweet after the u.n. vote last week where trump said when he's president, things will be different with the u.n. these are among the reasons that you're hearing prime minister netanyahu saying he's looking forward to working with the next administration, not this one. jim? >> that word "sad" a favorite jab from him. >>> i want to be a per spect frif on the controversy as well as this israel/u.s. split. we have the chief palestinian representative to the u.s. thank you very much for taking your team. >> thank you very much. >> first of all, the reaction to israel's move today. you had a lot of receipt ricks against various folks who voted, particularly aimed at the u.s., now this diplomatic step. what's your reaction? >> i think the israelis are trying to ignore the fact that they have been warned many times by the palestinians, by the u.s., by the international committee they cannot have both land and peace. the settlement policies of the current israeli government clearly indicate that this government do

not only at the u.n. and security council members who introduced this resolution but also at president barack obama for not vetoing this resolution. we have never seen criticism like this coming from benjamin netanyahu aimed at president obama. we knew these two didn't get along. this is a rapid deterioration of that administration. the obama administration not only failed to protect israel against this gangup at the u.n., it colluded with it behind the scenes. israel looking forward to working with president-elect trump and with all of our friends in congress, republicans and democrats alike to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution. netanyahu is saying that israel won't abide by the resolution. and has made it obvious he's done working with obama and is also looking forward to president-elect trump. the palestinian leadership is rejoicing at this resolution. they say it's long overdue to hold israel responsible for settlements in the west bank and eastern jerusalem. >> thank you for that r

is that a threat directed at the u.n. and if there are sanctions or if the issues with the u.n. removed. are there repercussions? >> i don't want to take a tweet and project policy implications off it. that got us into a lot of trouble in the past. you clearly have an outgoing administration with one agenda on the middle east and an incoming administration which is different. the u.n. resolution recently that was not vetoed by the u.s. tells the whole story. we had the speech yesterday by john kerry defending the idea of a two-party solution in the middle east. trump suggesting maybe not. it would be up ending an lo lot the way people viewed how to fix the middle east. >> donald trump never shy to pat himself on the back. he took a victory lap of sorts yesterday. he talked to reporters at mar-a-lago about jobs he says he brought back to the u.s. listen to what he said. >> so we had very good news because of what's happening and spirit and hope. i was just called by the head people at sprint and they will be bringing 5,000 jobs back to the united states. taking them from other co

i think thankfully for u.n. members, diplomats have lain low, trying not to react, but i think there is some genuine concern from the international community about what they see as a president who doesn't really see the benefits of multilateral organizations like the u.n., like the european union. the union does count on u.s. leadership, but member states also don't take too well with the in your face approach. they've always done better at the u.n. when they try to work through consensus. now there is the israel issue. they slam on members to defund the u.n. so if that vote on settlements is not overturned, we could be headed to a showdown. is the security council going to back down and repeal the legislation? i don't know if they will. i tend to think neither will happen. >> i want to go to you because you're out with a piece today in the "new york times" saying trump shouldn't move the u.n. embassy in israel. trump has held a long number of policies and what that could mean for the next four years. >> i think

that is something the u.n. is aware of and not looking forward to. especially after the u.n. resolution with the u.s. abstention and allowed it to go through. now netanyahu has continued lashing out at the obama administration. he gave a measured and vigorous response. he said it will continue. we have seen it with the diplomatic steps. netanyahu has limited working ties with the embassies and ministers of the countries that voted for the resolution. it has little practical effect, but it is intended as a statement to show how angry lgr netanyahu is over the vote. israeli officials accusing the obama administration of being behind the u.n. reese lusolutio. here is david keyes. >> we have ironclad sources which has information. we will share that information through the proper channels with the new administration. if they choose to share, it is their prerogative. it should give us pause that hamas calling for genocide of all jews is celebrating this decision. celebrating it because it distances the chances of peace. >> reporter: we have pushed israeli officials here and in the

they're mounting a challenge against the u.n. and all of the countries that supported in resolution, and they're just going to wait for the trump administration. so why would they listen to john kerry when they can get better terms in only a month? >> josh rogin, thank you for your insights. >> any time. >>> and we turn to the political landscape in south korea now and some lawmakers there are quitting the ruling conservative party and forming their own. the 29 lawmakers were members of the president's party. >> they now say those who remain loyal to president park gun hay. the party will be called the newly formed conservative party. if you will remember, the president was impeached over a major corruption scandal. >>> to nigeria, after more than two years in boko haram captivity, 21 school girls will bring ring in the year with their family. >> they were kidnapped back in 2014. cnn has the exclusive story of the girls' journey back home. >> reporter: after almost two-and-a-half years in boko haram captivity, at last it is time

. >> reporter: just hours before the u.n. security council was set to vote on a resolution, calling for israel to stop building settlements, calling them a violation of international law, the ballot was abruptly called off. cnn learned that president obama was prepared to let that resolution pass, either by abstaining or voting in favor of that. the u.s. has seen settlements as an obstacle to the peace process, but has never voted against israel in a u.n. vote. this is really a parting shot at israel's prime minister beng ming netanyahu, and the settlement policy that president obama was opposed. the israelis warned it would have to ask president-elect trump to intervene if washington did not cancel the vote. that's exactly what it did. a senior israeli official tells me the government reached out to the president-elect. he sent out a statement calling for the u.s. to veto, saying peace between israelis and palestinians needs to be negotiated, not through "the imposition of terms by the united nations." we understand then the

abstained from a u.n. security council vote condemning israel for settlement activity in the west bank. what is your reaction to the move? we saw donald trump's reaction. he essentially slammed and it said there will be a knew posture come january 20th. what do you think? >> i think he's absolutely right. when i went to the middle east in that delegation, i sat across from benjamin netanyahu for two hours and listened to him tell us how under siege he is from all sides. and they're a democracy in a sea of dictatorships. and we have basically cut them adrift last eight years and i think that's terrible. we have to let them know that we have their back. what they did today at the u.n. by not objecting and not vetoing the resolution is a seed change with respect to israel. they have to know that we have their back. they have to know we're their ally and we'll support them moving forward. so i strongly support trump's stance on this issue. israel has to be taken care of. >> thank you very much. merry christmas

a u.n. ambassador asked to see these ministers is not unusual but these are anything but normal circumstances. is this kind of a power play or a message by mr. netanyahu? >> it's absolutely a message that netanyahu said he would take diplomatic steps and we saw those diplomatic steps last night, pulling some $8 million from the u.n. and now we're seeing a follow-up to those steps. he's calling for reprimanding every ambassador that has a relationship with israel to reprimand them for invoking this resolution of critical settlement. israel says this is anti-israelism and won't bring about peace at all. at first, israel had decided not to summon the u.s. because after reconsidering he decided to summon dan shapiro. what's interesting about that, shapiro is a president obama appointee, which means he only has a few weeks left in office. trump has already picked his ambassador to israel, a man named david freeman whose views are far closer to netanyahu's. >> oren liebermann, thank you for that f

so it appears israel is now thumbing its nose at the u.n. security council by advancing plans to build hundreds of new homes in east jerusalem despite the u.n. security council passing that resolution demanding an end to these settlements. what does this signal, do you think? >> i think of determination by prime minister netanyahu to push ahead with these settlements. he's clearly extremely angry with the united states and the obama administration in particular for not vetoing this resolution. he argues that it would lead to less chances for peace and these new settlements do endanger the peace process. so it's an escalation from the israeli side. >> and israel is still insisting it has evidence to prove the u.s. was pushing for this resolution, even orchestrated it aparentally, that according to israel. the u.s. denies that claim. what proof do you think israel has on this? >> it's hard for me to say. i don't know. again, the israelis say they have this evidence. there was a trip where secretary of state john kerry was in new zealand. that'

the u.n., made it clear they're trying to display this as a balanced speech and a balanced resolution. kerry criticized palestinian incitement to violence before criticizing israeli settlement buildi building. to netanyahu most of the criticism was directed at israeli settlement and he made it clear he doesn't agree with kerry. with the security council resolution it seems he doesn't agree with the rest of the world. his position has been that settlements are not the obstacle to peace. netanyahu said recently he doesn't see how removing the settlers from the west bank or jerusalem advances peace. he stands at odds there with secretary of state kerry and that was blatantly clear tonight. netanyahu was ready to springs as you pointed out and he very much did, making it clear that he can't wait for the next three weeks to be over. he wants to work with president trump to undo the damage of the resolution and this speech. >> he repeated his claim that the administration, the israeli government, ha

clearly still angry over the u.n. vote declaring israeli settlements illegal. >> friends don't take friends to the security council. >> netanyahu summoned the u.s. ambassador and has accused president obama and secretary of state john kerry of orchestrating what he called a shameful ambush at the u.n. telling his cabinet he has ironclad proof. >> translator: from the information that we have, we have no doubt that the obama administration initiated it, stood hyped it, coordinated on the wording, and demanded that it be passed. >> reporter: the white house denies that calling the claim absurd. >> we did not of the contract it. we did not put it forward. >> reporter: the obama administration maintains the u.n. vote was a last resort after struggling for the past eight years to convince israel to stop construction. >> if these trends continue the two-state solution is going to be impossible. >> reporter: officials are worried with u.n. backing palestinians will push for sanctions, boycotts, and take israeli solders to th

would consider cutting funding to the u.n., u.s. portion of the u.n. budget is quite high. israel has already taken its own steps diplomatically against the u.n. >> oren, thank you so much. this is a lot to digest and of course, it will be a lot for donald trump to handle in the next administration. donald trump also says that he is now closing down his foundation, this was a christmas eve announcement. the president-elect released a statement reading in part quote, to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president, i have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways. the new york attorney general's office is putting the brakes on trump's plans. a spokesman says the foundation cannot legally close until an investigation into the foundation's charitable practices has been completed. ryan nobles is following the story from washington. so tell us where it stands from here. we know there was a shakeup in the trump communications team over the weekend. tell us about that as well as what can be done with the foundation. >> re

the reagan administration supported a u.n. resolution criticizing israel when it attacked in iraq and withheld weapon sales. it's not unprecedented, first of all. it's not even known. in fact, the bush administration did it at the very end of the bush administration. you're wrong, it's not unprecedented. second of all, we have to understand what settlements mean. you're entrenching military control. they are not citizens in the state in which they live and like to vote for the governor of their country. we jews have many of those rights. many settlements are built on individually owned palestinian land. they used the fact that these are not land owners to take the land from them and give them to settlers. this is very bad for israel. >> name me one who supports the u.n. resolution, because you can't. >> what i do know is that four israeli leaders, both barack, omar, rashad who said this is leading israel into an apartheid future. >> go see a city with not a single israeli policeman, not a single israeli soldier. israel is not

without question with that u.n. security council resolution that is not the international consensus and definitely not the opinion of secretary kerry who pointed out that some of the expansion threatens the ability of putting together one palestinian state so i think we expected to hear that kind of response from netanyahu. he also talked about what he worries about next. he said he's afraid another move at the u.n. security council or by the international community, he worries that's still on the table and he urged the obama administration to say flat out it's not coming. that's a concern they voiced repeatedly over the last few days now that they're about three weeks left in obama's time in office. he also mentioned the president-elect and how he's looking forward to working with the next administration. these words were more civil than the other words we've heard exchanged but one other point, the accusation we've heard from many israelis including netanyahu himself, israeli officials here and there has been over

the u.n. warns of a great human rights situation in the syrian city. a u.n. official said friday hundreds of men may have gone missing after trying to escape. rebel-held areas, family members say they lost contact with them when they headed for the government-controlled neighborhoods. the u.n. also says rebel groups may be targeting civilians as a regime offensive continues in eastern aleppo. >> during the last two weeks, hatta al sham front and the abu amara battalion are alleged to have abducted and killed a number of unarmed civilians trying to leave their groups. >> the syrian army wad was said to have stopped fighting in aleppo and was focused on getting civilians out, but as fred saw firsthappened, the fighting does continue. >> this is what the syrian's alleged halt in fighting looks like in aleppo. the call to prayer pierced by explosions and gunfire as bashar al assad's force s continue b t pound the rebels. aid groups like the red crescent working around the clock to try to provide h

both sides have accepted u.n. security council resolution 242, which called for the withdrawal of israel from territory that it occupied in 1967, in return for peace and secure borders as the basis for ending the conflict. it has been more than 20 years since israel and the plo signed their first agreement. the oslo accords, and the plo formally recognized israel. both sides committed to a plan to transition much of the west bank and gaza to palestinian control during permanent status negotiations that would put an end to their conflict. unfortunately, neither the transition nor the final agreement came about. and both sides bear responsibility for that. finally, some 15 years ago, king abdullah of saudi arabia came out with a historic arab peace initiative, which offered fully normalized relations with israel when it made peace, an enormous opportunity then and now which has never been fully embraced. that history was critical to our approach to try and find a way to resolve the conflict, and based on my experien

they will cancel $8 million in contributions to five u.n. organizations. israel would not abide by the resolution. >>> the presidential inauguration is normally a pretty star-studded affair. tough to forget beyonce singing at t at the inaugural ball for president obama. which a-listers will be at donald trump's inauguration. donald trump is sort of indifferent as to whether or not there are these big a -listers. >> people are talking about this. it was even a joke on snl a couple of weeks ago. now, people are talking about the radio city rockettes. they accepted an invitation to perform. some of the individual rockettes expressing concern to the union they didn't want to go. the up yun saying no one is being forced to perform. quite frankly, no one needs to be forced to perform. madison square gardens, which owns the rockettes, released a statement saying we have more rockettes that want to participate than we have room for them. maybe donald trump is having a little bit of trouble getting people to come on board. back in november, for example, his committ

so there's blaming the u.n. as an organization but this is the security council itself that voted for this. those countries should be criticized, as well, if we -- if the new administration from -- their vote. >> the ambassador this morning said in his words the u.s. is the only country we have any expectations to actually stand with at the united nations. do you think that's a fair assessment? >> well, the fact is, they have. the fact is, the u.s., including this administration, has been very supportive of israel. and they haven't actually pulled back. so i should -- i only wish it would take this as a sign of where relations are, and have been over the last eight years. i do think the u.s. has been the strongest ally. that is true. i think it will continue to be. and i think the question right now, on the table, is the impact of settlements, and what happens with settlement policy, because i think overall, the relationship remains constructive. >> all right. david rohde, larry sabato, julianne zelizer. thanks

to come to the u.n. and decide about the disputed issues like the settlement, like jerusalem, the resolution saying we cannot build homes in our capital in jerusalem? do the american people really think the jewish people cannot build homes in jerusalem? this is the language of the resolution. >> this is also -- >> read the resolution. >> it also includes the west bank as well. >> the jewish community in jerusalem. if the u.s. will vote about it, it's actually telling the people, the jewish people in israel, you shouldn't build jewish homes in jerusalem. >> this is an area we have been consistent. i want to ask one last time on the issue of whether you blame the president and secretary kerry for bringing this to a vote. whether you think they are behind bringing this to a vote. >> i have hope, no blame. i hope the u.s. will stand by israel and will support us at security council. >> let me ask about the next president, president-elect donald trump. how much was he responsible for the delay of this vote? h

would veto any resolution in the u.n. which might dictate a peace solution or might recognize a palestinian state? >> yes. >> he would veto that? the u.s. will veto that? >> yes. we've made that clear over and over, jake. >> the point has been made by the israelis -- and i'd love your comment on this -- that there is no loss of things that the u.s. government, that the obama administration, could be leaving the stage talking about, whether it's the genocide in sudan, the crisis in syria, russian and chinese hacking. chinese intervention in the south china sea. climate change, et cetera. why focus on israeli settlements? >> well, jake, we're working on those issues too. we'll be dealing with the russian hacking. we're dealing with climate change on a regular basis. i think it's a false argument to say that, because there are other issues, we shouldn't focus on this one. the fact of the matter is we are focused on this one because the current trends on the ground, particularly the current israeli settlement activity, is mak

it would take follow up action at the u.n. action that trump promises he will not allow once he takes office. erica, needless to say, i think it will be interesting to see what happens between trump, the u.n. and israel in a few short weeks. >> that is for sure. thank you. >>> lindsey graham has had a lot to say about the diplomatic fallout calling president obama's policy flat out reckless. don't miss an interview with dana bash this afternoon. >>> after the break, with president elect donald trump hitting lockheed martin ceo, we have details next. ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ >>> the ceo of lockheed martinsmartin is promising to cut costs. trump tweeting this week based on tremendous cost and cost

one, the u.n. resolution and the israelis pushing back really strongly against the obama administration for not vetoes it, and, two, the notion that in the view of secretary kerry and the obama administration, the netanyahu government says publicly they want a two-state solution, but when you look at their policies, and the settlements that have grown in the west bank, including outside areas that would be possibly part of israel in a land swap in any sort of peace process, they are undermining any ability to create a two-state solution by just demolishing the idea of any contiguous state there. is that not -- is that not legitimate? >> well, the -- israelis have, like i say, about five-sixth citizens. the others are arabs. nobody worries about continuity and consous state. they live in all sorts of different places, and it's -- it's two people that at least, in middle east terms, are getting along reasonably well with one another, and would it be that different if it was one-third palestinian and

he has instructed his ambassador to the u.n. to veto such resolutions. now on the way out, he is the one who has broken precedent and i do think it is an opportunity for donald trump, who is sort of lucked into so many things. this is, obviously, very serious thing. but if you're donald trump now coming into the white house and you're immediately going to have this strengthened relationship with the leader of an ally, someone who has been -- you know, having a very difficult relationship with an american president for eight years, this is probably good news for donald trump coming in and inheriting this situation. >> selena, to you, let me read you what benjamin netanyahu said just yesterday. "from the information we have, we have no doubt that the obama administration initiated it, stood behind it and coordinated on the wording and demanding that it be passed. he went on to say we will do whatever is necessary so israel will not be damaged by this shameful resolution." this is the first time that the obama administration in nearly eight years has allowe

meantime, the u.n. says at least 27,000 civilians have been displaced in the last few days, and it is still asking for a pause in fighting to deliver aid, but it seems like that just never happens. cnn's mohammed lela joins us live from istanbul. tell us about the u.n. report painting such a dire picture of the ground. >> there's a u.n. report suggesting 31,000 people have been displaced because of fighting in eastern aleppo. they have identified at least 400 civilians inside of the eastern part of the city in desperate need of emergency medical evacuation. how those people will be eye vacciated when both sides are striking and fighting each other is anyone's guess. to give you a sense of the gravity of the situation, the u.n. says they sent a fact finding mission into one of the neighborhoods retaken by government forces. this is a neighborhood that normally is lively with people living their lives. the u.n. report says they found the neighborhood completely empty of any civilians. of course, the big,

actually directed this u.n. vote. they say they're not going to reveal this publicly, at least not yet. they're going to give it to the trump administration to figure out what to do with it. there's a lot of talk about that. do you think any of this is significant when it comes to actions that need to be taken now in the days to come? >> no. i think first of all i've spoken to people in the white house, spoken to people in the state department. i think it's very unlikely, in fact, impossible in my mind in that the obama administration orchestrated this. maybe the obama administration didn't act as vociferously as they would like. i don't think they orchestrated. the problem the israelis have is on the one hand they're vociferous israel doesn't spy on the united states, yet they claim to have evidence of what the u.s. was doing which is some intelligence on the u.s. government. the israeli government is careful. the prime minister spoke about having intelligence. what we heard in the clip before is we learned from othe

not stepping in, the u.n. security council passed a resolution condemning israeli settlements in the west bank and east jerusalem. a security council declared them, quote, a major obstacle to peace with no legal validity. netanyahu then lashed out saying the resolution was shameful and hostile. >> over decades american administrations and israeli governments have disagreed about settlements, but we agreed that the security council was not the place to resolve this issue. we knew that going there would make negotiations harder and drive peace further away. and as i told john kerry on thursday, friends don't take friends to the security council. i'm encouraged by the statements of our friends in the united states, republicans and democrats alike, they understand how reckless and destructive this u.n. resolution was. they understand the western wall isn't occupied territory. i look forward to working with those friends and with the new administration when it takes office next month. >> we're joined from jerusalem

ambassador of the u.n., john bolton, heidi heitkamp, democrat, and david malpass. latest cabinet picks, jessica snyder is outside trump tower on fifth avenue in new york city for us right now. jessica, trump describes his pick for defense secretary, and i'm quoting him now, as the closest thing to general george patton that we have. general mattis, as we know, the retired marine corps general has a potential legal hurdle he has to clear in order to be considered for his nomination. >> reporter: yes. you know, wolf, but trump's team is saying they are well on their way to getting a congressional waiver. trump spokesman jason miller, in fact, this morning saying that senator john mccain is right now drafting legislation that would get general mattis around that law that mandates that uniformed

israel's u.n. ambassador said in a statement he had expected his country's quote greatest alley to act in accordance with the values we share and they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution and he said he hopes the trump administration will be more sympathetic. the vote brought to a head the standoff between the current and future presidents on mid east peace. it was delayed thursday after a scramble by netanyahu who cnn has learned reached out to president-elect trump to intervene. when trump sent out a statement calling for a u.s. veto, the president of egypt took a call from trump and put the vote on hold. other members reintroduced it. behind the scenes officials complained trump's interference runs a foul thatsy president-elect does not interfere with an outgoing president's administration, especially in foreign policy. publicly, the state department has appeared unfazed. >> nobody here felt boxed in by a tweet from the president-elect, and he is perfectly entitled to express his views

refused to veto a highly controversial u.n. resolution defying pressure from israel and president-elect trump. israel says it will not comply with the new resolution which condemned the construction of israeli settlements in east jerusalem and the waist bank. >>> now israel is retaliating against two of the countries that sponsored the measure. it's also offering sharp parting word for the obama administration. cnn other than loeberman has the latest from injujerusalem. have you had a chance to talk with anybody who settled in the west bank, 60,000 of those are actually americans. >> reporter: well, we haven't gotten a reaction from the settler community just yet, it is the sabbath here and sit a religious community. it won't be a surprise, you use the word sharp reaction, this goes beyond sharp. this is the harshest criticism we've seen from an israeli government of an american government in years perhaps ever. listen to this statement from prime minister benjamin netanyahu's office. the obama administration not only failed to

the prime minister's office said u.n. secretary general just recently acknowledged a bias at the u.n. against israel and they see this as an extension of that. again, back to the question, what are the odds this gets through? for the u.s. to either an stain or vote in favor of it it will come down to small warding and depend on if it's going too far or the language is too harsh. it's sensitive, and that's why we don't have an indication yet of what the u.s. will do. but all throughout the day we expect the israelis to lobby against it and the palestinians to lobby for it. >>> and change is afoot under a trump administration, most significantly this talk of an embassy move to jerusalem. how's that playing out with the israeli public? >> the israeli public wants the embassy to move to jerusalem and recognition from the u.s. that it's the capital of israel. but it's the most sensitive or one of the most complex issues in the palestinian conflict. that's why the u.s. has left it to negotiations. but now with trump saying he'l

>> i think the u.n. security council abstention, don, and the speech were designed because i think the administration knows what's coming which is basically the demise of what's left of the two-state solution and i think they felt compelled at least to put their fingerprints on it to create a frame of reference in which they demonstrated they've done everything they possibly could and single out the enterprise even though john kerry admitted it's not the only or the primary obstacle to why we don't have a two -state solution to basically set the parameters and the -- >> and it's going -- >> and in the end, if i can, it's likely to produce the opposite of what the administration intended. >> sol, listen, let me ask you then, you served both democrat and republican secretaries of state. then why the uproar, why so -- why are beam from the israeli side, especially benjamin netanyahu, so upset when it appears this resolution is no different than other resolutions that have been, you know, put together, broug

both come in response to friday's u.n. security council vote in which the united states crucially abstained permitting the passage of a measure condemning israel's west bank settlements. late today the president-elect tweeted, "the united nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. so sad!" as for the israelis, they did more than tweet. cnn's elise labott reports. >> reporter: israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is escalating his attack against the obama administration, clearly still angry over the u.n. vote declaring israeli settlements illegal. >> friends don't take friends to the security council. >> reporter: netanyahu summoned the u.s. ambassador and has accused president obama and secretary of state john kerry of orchestrating what he called a shameful ambush at the u.n. telling his cabinet he has ironclad proof. >> translator: from the information that we have, we have no doubt that the obama administration initiated it, stood behind