US-Israeli ties strong despite noise: Obama

President Barack Obama says "despite all the noise and hullabaloo" the United States and Israel are still close allies and the recent anti-Israel UN resolution has not damaged the military, intelligence ties between Washington and Tel Aviv.   

The UN Security Council voted 14-0 last month to pass Resolution 2334, which demanded an immediate end to Israel's "illegal" settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. The US decided to abstain - and not veto - the resolution, allowing it to be adopted.

In his final interview on CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday night, the outgoing president acknowledged that it was his decision not to veto the resolution condemning Israel's settlements.

Host Steve Kroft said America's abstention during the voting on Resolution 2334 "caused a major fallout between the United States and Israel," and asked Obama, "Was it your decision to abstain?" "Yes, ultimately," Obama replied.

"I don't think it caused a major rupture in relations between the United States and Israel." President Obama said that "despite all the noise and hullabaloo-- military cooperation, intelligence cooperation, all of that has continued. We have defended them consistently in every imaginable way."

The Obama administration has argued that the abstention was in line with the official US policy which views the settlements as a major impediment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the move angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who accused President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry of being behind the "shameful" act.

Obama said on Sunday that Israel's illegal settlements are "a contributing factor to the inability to solve [the Israeli-Palestinian] problem." The president said that he wanted "to make that point" with the vote.

The Obama administration has insisted the Israeli prime minister was responsible for Washington's decision to allow the Security Council to adopt Resolution 2334, saying Netanyahu did not pay attention to repeated American warnings that increased settlement construction on the occupied Palestinian lands could lead to greater pressure from the international community.

US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to change the course of the US-Israeli ties after he takes office on January 20, but given that most of the world is opposed to the Israeli settlements, the Security Council action will be almost impossible for anyone, including Trump, to reverse.