UNSC vote against Israeli settlements a victory for the people of Palestine — Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak described the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) vote calling on Israel to stop the illegal construction of settlements in Palestine as a victory for the people of Palestine.

The Prime Minister said Malaysia and three countries, namely New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela had put the text of a draft resolution to vote on Friday in a largely tense and unexpected climax to the chain of events.

“Alhamdulillah, with the grace of God (Allah SWT), the resolution which faced uncertainty when Egypt withdrew the draft, had finally answered the prayers of the people of Palestine.

“Malaysia, together with New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela agreed to put the text of a draft resolution to vote, calling on Israel to stop the construction of illegal settlements,” said Najib in his blog posting.

Najib said the decision was not viewed from the religious point but an endorsement of the support from the international community that opposed the breach of international law by the regime.

Earlier yesterday, eighteen members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) - including the four permanent members China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom - voted in favour of the resolution while the US abstained, and Israel voted against it.

The outgoing Malaysian Permanent Representative to the UN Datuk Ramlan Ibrahim, told Bernama right after the UNSC voting process that the development was clearly a diplomatic success story for Malaysia. — Bernama