Palestinian leadership praises passing of UN resolution

The Israeli and Palestinian leaderships have not met for peace talks since the collapse of US sponsored negotiations in May 2014.

By ADAM RASGON
Updated: DECEMBER 24, 2016 09:12
Israel, Palestinian ambassadors to UN give speeches before vote on settlement resolution
The Palestinian leadership collectively welcomed on Saturday the UN Security Council’s decision to adopt a resolution critical of settlement construction.
“The UN Security Council Resolution is a major blow to Israeli policy, a unanimous international condemnation of settlements, and strong support for the two-state solution,” said Nabil Abu Rudeinah, the PA Presidency spokesman.
The resolution condemned settlement building, describing it as “a violation of international humanitarian law and relevant resolutions.”
Riyad Mansour, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, praised the resolution, emphasizing that it can salvage the peace process.
“After years of allowing the law to be trampled and the situation to spiral downward, today’s resolution may rightly be seen as a last attempt to preserve the two-State solution and revive the path for peace,” Mansour said.
The Israeli and Palestinian leaderships have not met for peace talks since the collapse of US sponsored negotiations in May 2014.
Riyad al-Maliki, the PA foreign minister, stated that the resolution is a “victory for the Palestinian people, adding that “it confirms the illegitimacy of settlements which form a clear violation of international law and obstacle to achieving a two-state solution.”
The resolution called for the establishment of two states living side by side in peace and security.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum hailed the resolution, which he said “rejected the hostile Israeli settlements policy.”
“We welcome this important transformation and development in international positions supporting Palestinian rights in international forums…as we call for more of these positions backing the justice of the Palestinian issue,” Barhoum said in a statement on Hamas’s official website.
Hamas has said it supports the Palestinian leadership’s international strategy to achieve statehood, but simultaneously advocated for an armed strategy.
Islamic Jihad Spokesman Daoud Shahab called the decision a a clear denunciation of “the occupation’s policies.”
“There is a international public opinion against Israel and its policies and it has become possible to isolate, boycott, and pursue Israel in international forums for the crimes and aggression it commits,” Shahab said, clarifying that “we know the decision itself will not deter Israel.
“There are two factors that will deter Israel, which are the continuation of our resistance and the pursuit and boycott of Israel.”
Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ramadan Shalah released a ten-point plan in October, wherein he entertained the idea of challenging Israel in some international forums.
This successful UN resolution comes after the Palestinian leadership made two abortive attempts to pass Security Council resolutions pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.