Arab League gets UN hearing on Israeli settlements

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The UN Security Council has agreed to hold a high-level open debate Friday on the ongoing Israeli settlement building in the West Bank. Agreement came Thursday in closed-door consultations of the council, said Libyan UN delegate Mahmoud Gebreel. Saudi Arabia requested the meeting at the ministerial level on behalf of the Arab League. Prime ministers, foreign ministers and other world leaders and senior diplomats are currently in New York attending the annual UN General Assembly. Public speeches are expected from Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, and probably Israel speaking in response, Gebreel and several other diplomats said as they left the private consultation. No council resolution on the matter is expected.