In an historic and unanimous vote on Dec. 23, 2016, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334 concerning Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories. As one of his last actions in office, President Barack Obama, and by extent the United States itself, abstained from the vote.

As a student who is interested in political science and hopes to study it in college, I’ve been obsessed and baffled with this decision on the United States’ behalf for quite some time.

Resolution 2334, for those who are unsure what it really is, states that Israel’s settling activity is a violation of international law and that the country should only continue to behave as an occupying power. In layman’s terms, the UN is essentially encouraging Palestine’s reluctance to negotiate peace.

I always try to look at things objectively and without bias. I look at the facts and the history and try to connect them through reason and logic to avoid sounding too narrow minded. President Obama has done a lot in his eight years in office, much of which I agreed with and supported. His abstention, however is something I can’t just overlook.

I think it was wrong of Obama to abstain from voting simply because it strained our relations with Israel. When President Harry S. Truman first recognized Israel as a sovereign nation in 1949, the US made many Middle Eastern enemies, there’s no doubt about that. But over the last several decades, we have maintained peaceful and friendly relations with the Jewish state. Now, in the last few weeks he has left in office, it seems as though Obama is trying to start trouble for president-elect Trump.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to sound like some crazy Trump supporter or Obama hater. But it just seems strange that Obama would do something like that. For a long time, he has been in the “lame duck” period of his presidency, and honestly I think he should just stay there. Let Donald Trump mess things up on his own, which won’t be very hard, and don’t try to make trouble a month before you leave office for good.

Additionally, Obama is continuously blaming Russian hackers for influencing the election. Now Trump must deal with strained US relations with both Russia and Israel. Obama should be trying to make the transition from the incumbent administration to the newly elected one smooth and easy, not more difficult.

Since he was inaugurated in 2009, Barack Obama and the whole Obama administration have accomplished a number of achievements. He has left his mark on our country not only as the first African-American president, but also as a strong leader. But I just find it strange that he would do something so out of character right as he’s getting ready to leave Washington.