SEN. CHRIS MURPHY: I don’t think there should have been any surprise that the United States has continued in its longstanding objection to the Israelis building settlements in east Jerusalem or territory outside of the ‘67 borders and further outside of what we call blocks. What I think is alarming to many of us is that there are other ways to convey that objection to the Israelis than through the United Nations. The United Nations is fundamentally not a fair forum for the Israelis and traditionally the United States has tried to keep these resolutions at bay if not vetoing them, at least working behind the scenes to make sure they don’t come up for a vote and expressing our objections in other forums... I certainly think that [Trump] can build a better relationship with Netanyahu [than Obama has], but when the United States has been most productive when it comes to trying to achieve peace, it is when we are percieved by the Israelis and the Palestinians as being able to bring those two sides together. We are always going to be first, second and third Israel's friend, but that also means being able to criticize the Israelis when we think they are wrong and bringing both sides to the table.