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Photo taken on Dec. 23, 2016, shows the UN Security Council voting on a draft resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank, at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
CAIRO, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- 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.
Related:
UN Security Council adopts resolution urging end to Israeli settlement activities
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging Israel to cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The 15-nation council reaffirms the Israeli settlement activities have "no legal validity" and constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel. Full Story
