[Jim Sciutto, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now, deep anger. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu lashing out at President Obama after the U.S. refuses to veto a U.N. resolution condemning Israel's settlements. Tonight the fallout is going global. Air war. The battle against ISIS from the skies over Syria is expected to heat up as coalition forces look to retake Raqqa, the city that ISIS calls its capital. How long will it take? And run again? President Obama tells CNN he could have won a third term if he could have run for president again. Just now, Donald Trump responded on Twitter. Wolf Blitzer is off. I'm Jim Sciutto, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Tonight we're following a very unusual and bitter split between Israel and the United States. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today defending his scathing criticism of President Obama, saying the world respects strong leaders who stand up for themselves. Netanyahu says there is deep anger and dissatisfaction, because the U.S. allowed the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel's continued building of settlements in the West Bank. Instead of vetoing the resolution, the U.S. abstained. Israelis also announced they are suspending working ties with nations that supported that anti-settlement vote. In politics, President Obama tells CNN's David Axelrod that he could have beaten Donald Trump, if he'd been able to run for a third term. Donald Trump just fired back on Twitter, quote, "No way." Tonight top Palestinian diplomat Maen Areikat is in THE SITUATION ROOM to give us his perspective on the U.S.-Israeli split, and our correspondents, analysts and guests have full coverage of the day's top stories. Let's begin with Israel's continuing anger at the U.S., as well as major countries in the United Nations. CNN's global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott, has the very latest. Elise, tell us more about this Israeli reaction. Angry?
[Elise Labott, Cnn Global Affairs Correspondent:] Well, Jim, you saw after the vote that Israel recalled its ambassadors from New Zealand and Senegal, those countries that put the resolution forward. Now Israeli officials tell us that they are limiting working ties with the 12 nations that also voted for the measure. The prime minister of Ukraine, who was scheduled to travel to Israel in the coming week, that visit has been canceled. Other foreign ministers will not be able to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and ambassadors from those countries will not be welcomed at the foreign ministry as, you know, the normal type of business between the embassies will be curtailed. Now, it's a temporary move. It's not cutting of diplomatic ties, but it is a show of force, if you will, to demonstrate Israel's displeasure with those countries that voted against them in the U.N. Security Council. But, you know, interestingly, Jim, Israel did not take any action against the United States, which abstained from the resolution and let it pass. But certainly, Prime Minister Netanyahu has not been quiet about his fury for the United States for what he called a shameful ambush against Israel at the U.N., Jim.
[Sciutto:] He know we'll have a new president soon enough with perhaps a different view. Elise Labott, thanks very much. Let's get more on the acrimonious split between the governments of the U.S. and Israel. Oren Liebermann, he is in Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, he certainly isn't backing down. Is this largely for domestic consumption?
[Oren Liebermann, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, he's certainly sending a statement, not only to his voters and to Israel but also to the United States and other countries that voter for this resolution. We saw the first statements come out right after this vote, and they have continued, perhaps even getting angrier. Netanyahu tonight backing up what he's done so far, calling it responsible and a vigorous response to this, what he calls a shameful vote at the Security Council resolution. Here's what he said at this week's cabinet meeting.
[Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Of Israel:] 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 that the Western Wall isn't occupied territory. I look working with those friends and with the new administration when it takes office next month.
[Liebermann:] And Jim, there were the words, "new administration." Netanyahu has made it blatantly obvious he's looking forward to working with President-elect Trump and effectively done working with Obama over these next few weeks.
[Sciutto:] Oren, now the Israeli government making what you can call an explosive charge. That's that the U.S. didn't just let this resolution go through the U.N. They say that the U.S. behind the scenes orchestrated the whole thing.
[Liebermann:] And at first this was whispered quietly. It was at first off the record, and then it was Israeli officials. And now it's an accusation that's coming from Netanyahu and its top officials, both here and in the United States. Here is the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, making the accusation.
[Ron Dermer, Israeli Ambassador To The U.s:] The reason why the only ambassador that the prime minister of Israel met with was the American ambassador, is that's the only country where we have any expectation to actually stand with us at the United Nations. Look, it's an old story that the United Nations gangs up against Israel. What is new is that the United States did not stand up and oppose that gang-up, and what is outrageous is that the United States was actually behind that gang-up. We have clear evidence of it. We will present that evidence to the new administration through the appropriate channels. And if they want to share it with the American people, they're welcome to.
[Liebermann:] We've pushed Israeli officials both here and there on what is this evidence, what is this information? So far as we've gotten no response on what that information is. Normally, both the U.S. and the Palestinians have denied there was any sort of collusion behind Israel's back on putting this resolution together and getting it passed at the U.S. at the U.N. Security Council.
[Sciutto:] Oren Liebermann there in Jerusalem, where Donald Trump wants to move the U.S. embassy in Israel. President Obama is vacationing in Hawaii, but one of his top aides says the U.S. isn't backing down on its opposition to new Israeli settlements. This has been a longtime view of multiple administrations. Let's go to CNN's Athena Jones in Honolulu. What are you hearing in reaction to Israeli Israeli step today, Athena?
[Athena Jones, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Jim. That's right, this has been a position of multiple administrations. The White House is not responding to this move by Israel to cut ties with the countries that voted against it in this U.N. vote, but the message the White House was sending in abstaining from that U.N. vote last week is that the Obama administration agrees with much of the international community, that the continued construction at the building of these Israeli settlements in disputed lands is not helpful to the peace process, not helpful to any eventual two-state solution. The White House is stressing that this is not a new position. It's not something that should have been a surprise to the Israeli government. Here's more of what national security advisor Ben Rhodes had to say about this in an interview on Israeli TV.
[Ben Rhodes, National Security Advisor:] It's not an ambush when President Obama and Secretary Kerry have been saying in hundreds of conversations and in public comments that Israeli settlement activity was pushing into the West Bank in a way that was making the two-state solution unachievable over time. When we see laws that aim to legalize outposts, when we see rhetoric that suggests that this is the most pro-settlements Israeli government in history, and when we see the facts on the ground, again, deep into the West Bank beyond the separation barrier, we feel compelled to speak up against those actions.
[Jones:] Compelled to speak up, Rhodes defending the White House's moves on this. Meanwhile, President-elect Trump is weighing in with a tweet not long ago, saying, "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." And 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 the reasons, or among the reasons that you're hearing Prime Minister Netanyahu saying he's really looking forward to working with the next administration, not this one Jim.
[Sciutto:] That word "sad" a favorite jab from Donald Trump in tweets. Athena Jones, thanks very much. I want to get now a very different, very necessary perspective on the settlement controversy as well as this IsraelU.S. split. With me now is Maen Areikat. He's the chief Palestinian representative to the U.S. Mr. Areikat, thanks very much for taking the time.
[Maen Areikat, Chief Palestinian Representative To The U.s:] Thank you very much.
[Sciutto:] First of all, if I could get your reaction to Israel's move today. You had a lot of angry rhetoric over the weekend against various folks who voted for this resolution, but particularly aimed at the U.S. and the Obama administration. Now you have this diplomatic step. What's your reaction?
[Areikat:] Well, I think the Israelis are trying to ignore the fact that they have been warned many times over by the Palestinians, by the United States, by the international committee that they cannot have both land and peace. The settlement policies of the current Israeli government clearly indicate that this government does not have any interest in ending the conflict with the Palestinians. They want to continue to grab Palestinian land. They want to continue to build illegal settlements, and they don't have any plans in the near future to put an end to this conflict.
[Sciutto:] Did you welcome the move from the U.S., abstaining from this vote?
[Areikat:] Well, we have been hearing a lot of encouraging statements from the current U.S. administration, and we have been urging them to translate those statements into action. The United States did what conforms with its long-standing policy, since the days of Lyndon Johnson, 1967. Ronald Reagan, the Republican president, used abstention seven times during his two terms as president of the United States to allow resolutions at the U.N. and to condemn settlement activities. So the U.S. is doing just what they have done all the time.
[Sciutto:] I want to ask you, because of course, you have a new administration coming in, in about three weeks, with what appears to be a very different view. You look at Donald Trump's selection for ambassador to Israel. He is someone who has said that the idea of a two-state solution is over, in effect. Are you concerned at all that this hard push from the Obama administration on the way out will put you in a weaker position as the new administration comes in?
[Areikat:] No, I think I think what the administration is trying to prepare the ground for the next administration, that there are certain issues that they need to be given the right attention. We are not going to anticipate what the new administration policies would be. However, we will be more than willing to work with them. We hope the next administration will understand that, in order to end this conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, these settlement policies must end. Israel must end its occupation, which is approaching the 50th the 50th anniversary next June. And there is only one way out: end the occupation, provide peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
[Sciutto:] We had the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, on our air a short time ago with my colleague Jake Tapper. And he accused the Palestinians of having missed opportunities in the past. He claims, for instance, to have done that Israel did a ten- months moratorium, but that didn't get Israel any closer or bring the Palestinians any more to the negotiating table. What's your response to that criticism?
[Areikat:] Ron Dermer wasn't there when I was there in September of 2010 when that so-called moratorium ended. The moratorium was done in the West Bank but did not include settlements in East Jerusalem. I remember when the administration, when Secretary Clinton urged the Israeli prime minister to extend that moratorium for two or three more months to allow for the Israelis and Palestinians to continue negotiations, and the Israeli prime minister refused. So I was in those meetings. I don't believe Ron Dermer was in those meetings.
[Sciutto:] Let me ask you this. Because there's been a lot that's been made of the idea that has been a campaign promise of Donald Trump to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I don't think a lot of folks in the audience know why exactly that's important from your side. Can you explain that?
[Areikat:] Jerusalem is important not only to Israelis and Jews. It's important to Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims and Christians around the world. It's a city that is important to all these religions and to all these peoples. Any move to give one party monopoly over such an important city is going to escalate tension in the region. I strongly believe that the next administration will be wise enough to understand that Jerusalem is going to be a sensitive issue, must be negotiated between the two parties, and no unilateral action should be taken by anybody, including the United States.
[Sciutto:] And as you referenced, in peace negotiations, it's been said by many involved that you need to share Jerusalem between the sides because of its historical ties to multiple religions. But the fact is, is the Israeli government is based in Jerusalem. The Knesset is there. Parliament is there. It's effectively based there, even if the U.S. embassy is in Tel Aviv. What practical difference would it make if Trump follows through on what he says he will do?
[Areikat:] The partition plan of 1947, which allowed for the creation of the state of Israel, provided that Jerusalem should be a corpus separatum, which means a separate entity and that neither side should claim monopoly over the western or eastern side of the city. After the 1967 war, Israel occupied the western side, and Jerusalem fell under Arab control. Israel today has its offices in West Jerusalem, but no country, including the United States, does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.
[Sciutto:] Have you or your team reached out to the Trump transition team to express your views? Have they accepted an offer to express your views?
[Areikat:] Well, we are we are reaching out. We're trying to reach out. We understand the president-elect and his team are busy with a lot of appointments and a lot of domestic issues. And again, we are very much receptive to starting a dialogue, a communication with the new administration. I hope they will give us the opportunity to express our views, the same way they are giving the Israelis...
[Sciutto:] So just so I'm clear, you have reached out to express those views, but that that invitation has not been accepted?
[Areikat:] It's in the process, in the process. We are trying to work some kind of an arrangement, but we are hopeful that this will happen in the near future.
[Sciutto:] And has the Trump administration says it's open to hearing your views?
[Areikat:] I would expect them to say so, because if not if they don't want to talk to the Palestinians, they want you know, President-elect Trump said that he would like to see a deal done between the Palestinians and the Israelis. How can you make a deal if you don't talk to an important partner?
[Sciutto:] You've been involved in negotiations for a number of years. Jared Kushner, who I'm sure you know of this is Donald Trump's son-in-law, the husband of Ivanka, he Donald Trump has said he's going to have a potential lead role in the negotiations. Very young man, as you know, not a particular amount of experience on the ground there. How would you react to that? Would you would you be willing to sit across the table?
[Areikat:] We would be willing to sit across the table with anyone that the new administration chooses as its representative. We are again once again receptive as long as the new administration is willing to listen to our views, our opinions, and our positions.
[Sciutto:] Maen Areikat, we appreciate you taking the time today, and we wish you the best of luck.
[Areikat:] Thank you very much, sir.
[Sciutto:] Thank you. Next, coming up, the war on ISIS. How much can President Obama accomplish in the few weeks that he has left before handing off the fight to his successor?