FM Maliki Hopes US Will Not Seto Anti-settlements Resolution

PA Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki

Ramallah, 23 Rabiul Awwal 1438/23 December 2016 (MINA) – Foreign Minister Riyad Malki Thursday expressed hope the United States would not veto a resolution on Israeli settlements submitted for a vote at the United Nations Security Council, WAFA reported.

Malki told Voice of Palestine radio that Egypt, the only Arab member in the Security Council, has submitted the resolution on behalf of the Palestinians for a vote that is supposed to take place later Thursday.

He said the draft resolution was submitted following consultations with Britain as representative of several council members and after reaching an agreement on the text without prejudicing the original points in the first draft.

Malki expressed hope that the resolution will pass by a unanimous vote and that the US vote this time will be different from previous ones when it vetoed a similar resolution five years ago.

One Western diplomatic official said the Arab Quartet – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates – has not been overly supportive of an anti-settlement resolution at this time.

The reason, the official said, is because these countries do not want to give Abbas any “prize” as he continues to thwart the orderly succession process they want to see put into motion inside Fatah. (T/RS05/RS01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)