Fatah official: UN slamming settlements won’t help

Tawfiq Tirawi, a Fatah Central Committee member, said he opposes presenting a UN Security Council resolution condemning settlements, placing himself at odds with the Palestinian leadership.

“A resolution will not change anything on the ground. I don’t accept the [idea] of UNSC resolutions. Perhaps they theoretically are a good thing, but tell me of one UNSC resolution in favor of the Palestinians that was implemented,” Tirawi, who previously headed the PA’s General Intelligence service, told The Jerusalem Post Monday in his Ramallah office.

“There are dozens of resolutions calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state and condemning the occupation, settlements and taking prisoners, but not one of those resolutions was implemented.”

PA President Mahmoud Abbas told the General Assembly on Thursday the Palestinian leadership plans to submit a resolution to the Security Council.

“The settlements are illegal in every aspect and any manifestation. Therefore, we will continue to exert all efforts for a Security Council resolution on the settlements,” Abbas told the General Assembly.

Tirawi’s opposition to a UN resolution condemning settlements is not the first time he has opposed Palestinian leadership. In 2015, Tirawi told Ma’an News editor-in-chief Nasser Liham he does not support a two-state solution, which is the official leadership position.

The Security Council has historically adopted dozens of resolutions critical of Israel including its settlement activity, but Israeli governments have successively advanced settlement construction in the West Bank.

Palestinian leaders have said they will submit a Security Council resolution following the US elections in November, in hopes President Barack Obama will not veto it.