THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  The president of Egypt, the most important country in the Arab world, is making it clear where he believes the power now lies.  From The Times of Israel:   

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt said its president received a call from President-elect Donald Trump in which they both agreed to give the incoming US administration a chance to try and resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The call came hours after Egypt indefinitely postponed a UN vote on its Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli settlements, following pressure from Israel and Trump, who had called on members to veto it.

A statement from the Egyptian presidency said the two men spoke by phone early Friday and agreed on “the importance of giving a chance for the new American administration to deal in a comprehensive way with the different aspects of the Palestinian issue with the aim of achieving a comprehensive and a final resolution” to the decades-old conflict.

Egypt requested Thursday that its resolution demanding Israel halt settlements be postponed after Jerusalem launched a frantic lobbying effort.

An official in Jerusalem later Thursday accused the Obama administration of attempting a diplomatic ‘hit’ against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the settlements by planning to let the resolution pass, and a second Israeli source said the administration, in its final days, was violating a “core commitment” to defend Israel at the UN.

COMMENT:  President el-Sissi of Egypt is pro-American, but has been treated terribly by the Obama administration, which seems to believe that America's allies are burdens, and America's enemies are merely misunderstood.  The priority for Egypt right now, aside from its excellent working relationship with Israel, is its relationship with the new president of the United States, not the one who's on vacation in Hawaii.

December 23, 2016