Egypt’s withdrawal of the UN Security Council’s resolution on the illegality of the Jewish settlement activity, which was approved by 14 countries on Friday, was said to have raised a “strong sense of disappointment” among Palestinians, especially after it was revealed that Cairo had acted under pressure culminated in a series of contacts between Israel, US President-elect Donald and his transition team and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
The UN resolution proposed by Egypt declares that Israel’s settlements have “no legal validity” and constitute a “flagrant violation under international law.”
The Egyptian foreign affairs ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu-Zeid said in a statement on Saturday that the abrupt withdrawal was an attempt to avoid the resolution being vetoed. “Egypt wanted more time to make sure that no country would use its veto power to block the resolution, especially after US president elect [Donald Trump] called on the current US administration to veto the resolution”, he said.
Sisi’s spokesman, Alaa Yousef, said on Friday that the two presidents had agreed to give Trump’s incoming administration a chance to tackle the issue. “The presidents agreed on the importance of affording the new US administration the full chance to deal with all dimensions of the Palestinian case with a view of achieving a full and final settlement”, he stressed.
Source: Concerns raised over Egypt withdrawal from UN vote on Palestine – Middle East Monitor
