© Baz Ratner / ReutersA Jewish man covered in a prayer shawl, prays in the Jewish settler outpost of Amona in the West Bank December 18, 2016
In a short tweet, Benjamin Netanyahu said the United States "should veto the anti-Israel resolution" that 15 members of the UNSC will decide on in Thursday's vote.
The text that Egypt circulated on Wednesday evening demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease[s] all settlement activities in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."
The draft resolution "stresses that the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-State solution."
Washington, a traditional Israeli ally, in 2011 already vetoed a draft resolution condemning Israeli settlements.
Recently the Obama administration has expressed disapproval of Israeli settlement policies which Tel Aviv has pursued since 1967. Now the outgoing US President will once again decide whether Washington still inadvertently backs Israeli illegal expansions.
A vote on the draft resolution is scheduled for 3:00pm (2000 GMT) on Thursday.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon went on to criticize the timing of the draft resolution that he said targets the "sole democracy" in the region.
"It is bizarre that while thousands are being slaughtered in Syria ... the Security Council dedicates time specifically to discuss the condemnation of the sole democracy in the Middle East [Israel]," Danon said, according to Jerusalem Post. "We expect our greatest ally to not let this one-sided and anti-Israel resolution pass through."
Comment: There is never a "wrong time" to speak out against the barbaric Israeli settlements stealing Palestinian land. Also, it's ridiculous for the Israeli Ambassador to call Israel the 'sole democracy in the Middle East.' Not only is Israel more like a fascist dictatorship, especially in their treatment of the Palestinian people who they treat as prisoners on their own land, but the Ambassador seems to have no clue that Syria is a democracy.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and around East Jerusalem, built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The occupied territories have been seeking full independence from Israel for decades, with Palestinians demanding full recognition as a sovereign state from the UN and the international community.
Comment: Unfortunately, incoming president Donald Trump looks to agree with Netanyahu, saying: Update: According to a UN source, a vote on the illegality of the settlements has been indefinitely postponed. Egypt was reportedly under 'heavy Israeli pressure' to delay the vote.