Interview: Palestinians return to UN for resolution over Jewish settlements, welcome int'l efforts: Palestinian PM

The Palestinians plan to return to the UN Security Council (UNSC) soon seeking a resolution to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said Sunday.

The Palestinian leadership is returning to the UNSC with a new draft resolution to advance on settlements in the West Bank very soon, in coordination with Arab states, Hamdallah told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

The Israeli settlement activity is "aimed at killing the two-state solution" which enjoys a general agreement among the international community, including the United States, said the prime minister.

"We want to see at the Security Council what is the position of those states who continuously declare that this settlement activity is illegal and illegitimate," said Hamdallah in a reproaching tone, calling on the international community to support the Palestinian effort against the settlements that are deemed illegal under international law.

This will be the fourth time that the Palestinians have tried in the UNSC for a resolution regarding settlement issues.

In 2011, a Palestinian draft resolution on settlements was vetoed by the United States. Similar efforts were also foiled in 2012 and 2014.

The Palestinian prime minister said that all international efforts are welcomed by the Palestinian leadership in hopes of establishing the Palestinian state, including the French efforts to hold an international peace conference, but he clarified that the ideas have not yet formed as an initiative.

"Till now I cannot say there is a French initiative ... it is rather a set of ideas proposed by the French (former prime minister Laurent) Fabius ... He speaks of an international support group to be formed in April and holding an international peace conference next June or July," Hamdallah said.

Acknowledging that domestic issues represent another impediment before Palestinian efforts for statehood and stability, Hamdallah said that the government's inability to work effectively in the Gaza Strip is a "big problem."

"This government was supposed to work in the Gaza Strip since its formation on June 2, 2014, but unfortunately, it was not given the chance to do so in all fields."

Hamdallah cited the decade-long rift between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, which is dominating the West Bank, and the Islamic Hamas movement that controls Gaza.

He hoped that the national reconciliation agreements are put into effect without delay.

"We have many agreements, but what we need now is the implementation of those agreements and unification of the Palestinian homeland with Gaza and the West Bank," he explained.

The prime minister appreciated China's historic role in the region, particularly towards the Palestinian cause. He also called on China to exert its pressure within the international community and support the Palestinian call at the UNSC.

On the economic level, he said joint projects between Palestinians and China are growing significantly, such as a road network that China has contributed to through funding and several schools that China has helped to build.

"Now we are talking about important projects in renewable energy," said Hamdallah, asserting that China has never hesitated to help the Palestinians. Endit