UN Resolution gives Abbas new hope to ‘end occupation’

The PA chairman expressed renewed optimism for the likelihood of Israel “ending the occupation” after the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas expressed a sense of optimism on Tuesday regarding the potential for UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which passed unanimously on December 23, to help in “ending the occupation.”

Abbas made his remarks in Ramallah during a meeting with Members of Knesset (MKs) from the Meretz party, a left-wing faction with only five MKs, which endorses a two-state solution between Israel and the PA primarily based on Israel’s pre-1967 boundaries.

The UN resolution condemned any Israeli presence in territories won by Israel from Jordan during the Six-Day War in 1967, including Jerusalem’s Old City. Nevertheless, Abbas attempted to argue that the resolution was in no way anti-Israel.

“I’ve looked over the resolution and I haven’t found anything against Israel, but only against the settlements and the illegal outposts,” he said.

Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon expressed the same view before the resolution’s passing.

“I hope that the US administration does not veto the resolution, which is not against Israel, but rather against the annexation and settlement policy of the Israeli government,” she wrote on Twitter.

On Saturday night, Abbas called for the international community to officially establish and recognize a state of Palestine in 2017.

By: World Israel News Staff