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Egypt says postponed UNSC anti-Israeli settlement resolution to avoid veto

Xinhua, December 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Egypt said on Saturday it had decided to postpone a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements to avoid veto.

Egypt requested on Thursday that its resolution demanding Israel halt settlements to be postponed, which raised argument and questions.

"Egypt was planning to put the draft resolution in blue, meaning it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry was quoted by official news agency MENA as saying.

"But Egypt has decided to withdraw the resolution to give more time to make sure that veto right would not be used against the resolution," the spokesman added.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced that he asked the incumbent U.S. administration to veto the resolution, Abu Zeid noted.

On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution advanced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, and Venezuela, urging Israel to cease all settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territory.

Egypt is a key partner in sponsoring Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in coordination with the coming U.S. administration in order to reach an all-out, just and final settlement to the Palestinian issue, Abu Zeid said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a call on Thursday had agreed with U.S. President-elect Trump on the importance of giving the new administration a chance to deal comprehensively with all the aspects of the Palestinian cause to achieve a comprehensive and final settlement. Endit