Palestine welcomed the presidential statement of the UN Security Council, which condemned the Israeli actions regarding the expansion of settlement construction, after the Council considered, with the support of all its members, that "the continuation of Israeli settlement activity endangers the option of a two-state solution (Palestinian and Israeli)."
On Tuesday, Palestine welcomed the statement of the UN Security Council, in which it expressed "grave concern and indignation" over Israel's decision to expand settlement construction.
The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, said in a statement: "We welcome the presidential statement of the Security Council, which condemned the unilateral Israeli measures and demanded that it stop them and abide by the agreements signed between the two parties and international legitimacy."
The Sheikh expressed his thanks to the member states of the Security Council and the Arab group headed by the UAE.
On Monday, the UN Security Council expressed, in a statement issued by its presidency, its "deep concern and indignation" over Israel's decision to expand settlement construction.
The council considered, with the support of all its members, that "the continuation of Israeli settlement activity endangers the option of a two-state solution (Palestinian and Israeli)."
He expressed his "strong opposition to all unilateral measures that impede peace, including Israel's construction and expansion of settlements, the confiscation of Palestinian lands, the legalization of outposts, the demolition of Palestinian homes, and the displacement of Palestinian civilians."
Earlier on Tuesday, the diplomatic advisor to UAE President Anwar Gargash praised the statement condemning settlement, in the first Emirati comment on the council's statement after the vote on a draft resolution drafted by Abu Dhabi and Ramallah was postponed by consensus.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Security Council statement "biased" and criticized the United States for backing it.
Netanyahu's office said: "The statement should not have been issued and the United States should not have joined it."
Before the Council's statement was issued, Israeli press reports indicated that the Palestinian Authority agreed to postpone the vote in the Security Council on a resolution condemning the settlements, after the two parties agreed to an American compromise.
According to the reports, the Palestinian approval came "after an Israeli commitment not to take settlement decisions or demolish Palestinian homes for several months."
At the beginning of February, the Israeli government decided to "legalize" 9 settlement outposts in the West Bank, which was rejected by Palestine and several countries.
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