The Security Council denounces the legalization of Israeli settlements in the West Bank

The 15 members of the UN Security Council unanimously condemn the legalization of nine Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The UN Security Council denounced on Monday, for the first time in six years, the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, in a less strong statement than envisaged, which angered Israel.

Israel's continued settlement activities jeopardize the viability of the two-state solution, the Council says in this presidential statement, endorsed by consensus by all 15 members, but which does not x27;does not have the binding scope of a resolution.

The Council strongly opposes all unilateral measures impeding peace, including, inter alia, the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements, confiscation of Palestinian land, and legalization of settlements, demolition of Palestinian housing and displacement of Palestinian civilians.

And he expresses his deep concern and dismay over the Israeli announcement to legalize the nine settlements and build new housing in the existing settlements.

The Prime Minister's Office Israeli Minister Binyamin Netanyahu denounced a unilateral declaration denying the right of Jews to live in their historic homeland, ignoring the Palestinian terrorist attacks in Jerusalem in which 10 Israeli citizens were murdered in recent weeks.

The United States should never have gone along with this text, he added.

After the announcement on the nine colonies, the Arab Emirates States had prepared a draft Security Council resolution last week.

The draft notably aimed for the Council to condemn all attempts at annexation, including Israel's decisions and measures regarding the settlements and to call for their immediate withdrawal. A term of condemnation that is not in the statement released on Monday.

The initiative had provoked the discontent of the United States, which has the right of veto in the Council. The State Department had thus denounced a resolution of little use in terms of the support necessary for the negotiations on the two-state solution, while denouncing the Israeli announcement on the nine colonies.

The draft resolution was withdrawn after discussions, in particular, between Palestinians and Americans, indicated a diplomatic source.

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The Emirates have worked hard with different parties, with the Palestinians and others, with the United States who have done immense diplomatic work, to achieve the unity of the Council, commented their ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh .

This is the first [Council] decision on this dossier for more than six years, she said. Since a resolution of December 2016 where, for the first time since 1979, the Security Council had asked Israel to end colonization in the Palestinian territories.

A few weeks before the end of Barack Obama's mandate, this adoption was made possible by the decision of the United States not to use its right of veto, when it had always supported Israel until then on this issue. sensitive file and then continued.

While “useful”, today's statement, watered down under pressure from the United States and Israel, is far from a resounding condemnation that the grave situation deserves, regretted Louis Charbonneau, of Human Rights Watch.

Asked about his possible disappointment, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, underlined that the #x27;important was to have a united position of the Council.

Isolating one part is a step in the right direction, he told reporters. This message must be conveyed and translated into an action plan with a timetable for efforts by the UN and its Member States to put us on a different path to freedom, justice and peace, has he told Council members, as today we are rapidly approaching a breaking point.

Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the UN denounces the decision of the Council.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, denounced the decision of the Council. Today's meeting should have been all about innocent Israelis recently killed, he said, before rising for a minute's silence with no other delegation following him.

The evidence is irrefutable, the Palestinian culture of hatred and terror is real. How can this Council justify ignoring it?, he said, accusing the Palestinians of poisoning the minds of generations with propaganda campaigns that would make Goebbels and Hitler very proud.

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The text adopted by the Council on Monday condemns all acts of violence against civilians and calls on all parties to […] refrain from incitement to violence.

Finally, he is concerned about hate speech motivated in particular by Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-Christianity.