US President-elect Donald Trump has urged Israel to "stay strong" until he assumes office next month.

In comments referring to last week's UN Security Council vote which criticised Israeli settlement building on occupied land, he complained Israel had been treated with "disdain and disrespect".

The comments came in his latest outburst on Twitter.

It comes ahead of a speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

On Friday, the US chose not to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlement construction.

In two tweets issued on Wednesday morning New York time, Mr Trump said: "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect.

"They used to have a great friend in the US, but... not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (UN)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!"

Critics have urged the president-elect to use more conventional channels to communicate on international matters.

In his speech, Mr Kerry is expected to set out his vision for ending the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and address what a senior state department official described as "misleading critiques" of the Obama administration by the Israeli government.

More than 500,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

The UN Security Council resolution passed on Friday stated that the establishment of settlements "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace".

The US decision to abstain infuriated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has also taken diplomatic reprisals against the countries that voted in favour of the resolution.

Meanwhile, an Israeli committee has postponed a vote to authorise construction of almost 500 new homes in Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

The move apparently follows a request from Mr Netanyahu's office.