“The whole debate was conducted in a disgusting manner,” insisted one of the officials saying that they “mentioned every mosque that was torched” during the debate. The resolution to criticize the violence was blocked by the United States.

But while the US blocking mention of Israel at the council is nothing new, they also blocked a criticism of Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, and this earned public scorn from all 14 other members of the Security Council.

Israeli officials have warned the European Union that they risk becoming “irrelevant” after publicly criticizing the settlements, and the mention of the “price tag” attacks, a growing concern in Israel as the settlers have moved from burning mosques to attacking military bases, seems to have irked officials particularly.