Abbas: UNSC resolution says settlements illegitimate, not Israel
UN Security Council resolution 2334 was not an anti-Israel decision, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday evening, speaking to a group of some 200 Israeli activists, professors, and former officials.
“UNSC resolution 2334 was not against Israel; it was against settlements, no more, no less,” Abbas told the Israelis, who traveled from all over Israel to meet with the PA president at the Mukata, the PA presidential headquarters in Ramallah. “It did not say Israel is illegitimate; it said settlements are illegitimate.”
UNSC resolution 2334, which was passed on December 23, said that settlements “have no legal validity” and constitute an obstacle to peace.
While Palestinian officials have welcomed the resolution, characterizing it as “historic,” Israeli officials have rejected the resolution, calling it “shameful.”
Abbas, who was in good spirits using hand motions as he spoke, added that he and the Palestinian leadership vehemently oppose violence.