Hamas Welcomes UN Security Council Resolution Against Israeli Settlements

Hamas has welcomed the new UN Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements saying that it supports the rights of the Palestinians.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The resolution states that Israel should immediately and completely cease all settlement activities on "occupied Palestinian territory," including in East Jerusalem.

"We welcome this important transformation and development in international positions supporting Palestinian rights in international forums … as we call for more of these positions backing the justice of the Palestinian issue," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post on Saturday.

Israel has condemned the resolution saying that it would not abide by it and calling in ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, the two countries that initiated the resolution, for consultations, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hamas, an Islamist political and militant group, seeks the creation of an independent state of Palestine and wants Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories. Hamas also governs the Gaza Strip independently of the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has been building settlements on the occupied territories despite objection from the United Nations.