Considering the record of support for the Israeli crimes provided by certain powers, most notably by wielding veto power in the UN Security Council, the recent UNSC resolution is a token of “the international society’s determination to end the Zionist regime’s occupation and restore the rights of the Palestinian people,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.
His comments came after the UNSC voted in favor of the resolution demanding the halt of Israeli settlement on occupied Palestinian lands. The resolution was put forward at the 15-member council for a vote on Friday by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal, a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and US President-elect Donald Trump.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian spokesman reiterated that Israeli settlement plans in Palestine are clearly in violation of international law, saying experience shows that the Tel Aviv regime is not committed to any legal or international regulations.
Qassemi also praised the raising awareness in the world about the Israeli crimes and the “usurping and occupying nature” of that regime, calling on the international community, the UN in particular, to take effective steps in addressing the problem after more than seven decades.
The UNSC resolution was adopted with 14 votes in favor to a resounding round of applause. It was the first resolution the Security Council adopted on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.
The UN Security Council has condemned the Israeli settlements and continuing construction in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 as a “flagrant violation” of international law, saying it has “no legal validity.”
While the UN maintains that settlements are illegal, the UN officials have reported a surge in construction over the past months.
Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in occupied East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.
