This resolution is adopted four days before the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty by President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin. The US abstains from a UN resolution that says Israel’s policies and practices of establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other territories have no “legal validity, and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.” The resolution is not vetoed by the United States, demonstrating the Carter administrations deep disagreement with Israel over its continued settlement policy, despite the pending treaty signing. The Carter administration would vote in favor, not abstain, on a similar resolution in March 1980 “deploring” and seeking dismantling of settlements in Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. In 2016, the Obama administration would abstain from UNSCR 2334, which uses equally explicit language to condemn settlements, including Israel’s changes in East Jerusalem. (source)