Western officials said the United States had intended to allow the draft resolution to be adopted, a major reversal of US practice of protecting Israel.
The 15-member council had been due to vote on Thursday afternoon, but Egypt withdrew the measure under pressure from Israel and US President-elect Donald Trump.
Obama, Kerry behind "shameful" settlement vote –Israel
US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry pushed a "shameful" draft anti-settlement resolution at the UN Security Council, a senior Israeli official said on Friday.
"The US administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel's back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts," the official said.
The vote on the resolution was scheduled for Thursday but then postponed.
