WEST BANK: President Mahmooud Abbas says settlements won't be accepted as U.S vetoes UN resolution

Record ID: 560354

  • Title: WEST BANK: President Mahmooud Abbas says settlements won't be accepted as U.S vetoes UN resolution
  • Date: 19th February 2011
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (FEBRUARY 18, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SCORES OF PALESTINIANS WALKING TOWARDS PALESTINIAN PRESIDENTIAL COMPOUND, MUQATA, CARRYING PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS'S POSTER VARIOUS OF PALESTINIANS CHANTING ANTI SETTLEMENTS SLOGANS AND WAVING FATAH FLAGS CROWD MARCHING CHEERING CROWD WAVING FATAH FLAGS OUTSIDE MUQATA ABBAS WAVING AT CROWF (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS SAYING: =EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: AUDIO AS INCOMING=== "What we have sought and what we seek is to see the occupation leave our country in order to build our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital." MORE OF CROWD CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS SAYING: =EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: AUDIO AS INCOMING=== "We will not accept settlements regardless of their shape. It's illegal and unacceptable since they have started it on our land." MORE OF CROWD OUTSIDE MUQATA
  • Embargoed: 6th March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank, West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5EF5WCLU5IFUCZ3EORHF1Z7I7
  • Story Text: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday (February 18) told a cheering crowd in Ramallah that the "occupation must leave our country", as Washington vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement building.
    The Palestinian Authority earlier on Friday decided to insist that the resolution be put to the council, and rejected an offer from the United States of a council statement containing weaker language on settlements.
    "What we have sought and what we seek is to see the occupation leave our country in order to build our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Abbas told the chanting crowd who gathered outside the Palestinian Presidential compound.
    "We will not accept settlements regardless of their shape. It's illegal and unacceptable since they have started it on our land," he added.
    The other 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution. But the United States, as one of the five permanent council members with the power to block any action by the Security Council, voted against it and struck it down.
    Since 2000, 14 Security Council resolutions have been vetoed by one or more of the five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
    Of those, 10 were U.S. vetoes, nine of them related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The last U.S. vetoes were two in 2006, both related to Israel.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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