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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

US recognition of Jewish settlements to aggravate regional tensions — Russian diplomat

On November 18, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington no longer believed that Israeli settlements in the West Bank contravened international law

Russia's first deputy UN envoy, Dmitry Polyansky AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Russia's first deputy UN envoy, Dmitry Polyansky

© AP Photo/Seth Wenig

UNITED NATIONS, November 21. /TASS/. The US recognition of Israeli settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan River will aggravate the already tense situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone, Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

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Russian Foreign Ministry says US move on Israeli settlements will whip up tensions

"Two days ago, the United States made a yet another step to undermine the entire complex of the previously coordinated agreements," he said. "It is evident to us that this move would aggravate the already tense situation in the Israeli-Palestinian settlement."

"It was declared that the US government no longer views the Israeli construction of settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan river as a violation of the international law," the diplomat said. "At the same time, it was stressed that this move comes as a recognition of ‘reality on the ground.’ This kind of 'reality' is inadmissible and illegal for us."

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said during the UN Security Council session that he regretted the US decision.

According to TASS, states members of the UN Security Council were unable to adopt a joint statement for the media to condemn the Israeli settlement activity due to objections from the US. However, during and after the session, the remaining 14 Security Council member states called for an end to those unlawful activities on the Palestinian territory.

On November 18, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington no longer believed that Israeli settlements in the West Bank contravened international law. Israel welcomed the decision, but Palestine said the US administration was not authorized to repeal international resolutions regarding Jewish settlements.

In December 2016, tThe United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334 demanding Israel stop its settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel refused to implement provisions of this document.

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