President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his support of Israel, telling reporters Wednesday "I'm very, very strong on Israel" after Secretary of State John Kerry slammed settlement-building by the Jewish state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
"If you look at what's happened, they are up for 20 reprimands and other nations that are horrible places that treat people horribly," Trump said outside his Mar-a-Lago Estate in Florida, referring to actions taken by the United Nations against Israel.
"There is something going on — and I think it is very unfair to Israel."
Kerry earlier ripped Israel's settlement activities in the region, saying they imperiled the possibility of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
He also ripped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government as "the most right-wing in Israeli history, with an agenda driven by its most extreme elements."
Reporters also asked Trump about plans by South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to seek sanctions against Russia for interfering in the presidential election.
Trump said he did not know about the senator's efforts, but "I think we ought to get on with our lives.
"Computers have complicated our lives very greatly," he said. "The whole age of the computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what is going on.
"And we have speed and a lot of things — and I'm not sure of the kind the security that you need.
"I have not spoken with the senators," Trump said. "I will certainly be over a period of time."
In addition, the president-elect said he would hold a news conference early next month on his business holdings while in the White House.
"But I'm going to have nothing to do with it," he said of his company. "I don't have to because, as you know, I wouldn't have to.
"I want do that because I want to focus on the country.
"That is going to work out very easily," Trump said. "It is actually a very simple situation.
"It is not big deal."
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