The U.S. delegation's abstention from a Mideast resolution to the U.N. Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories comes one day after Egypt withdrew the proposal, in a move diplomats said was prompted by calls from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team -- who in turn contacted players to urge a delay until after the inauguration. Netanyahu had reportedly learned the U.S. planned to allow its passage by declining a veto, which would have marked a departure from previous policy of supporting Israel when the U.N. is enlisted as an agent to resolve the decades-long conflict. The Obama administration, however, has long supported the position of the Middle East Quartet, comprised of the U.S., Russia, the U.N. and EU, that the settlements into lands occupied by Palestinians since 1967 are a serious threat to a two-state solution.