UN Security Council 'deeply concerned' by Israel's moves, Netanyahu rejects accusations and blames US

(Patria) - The United Nations Security Council expressed "deep concern and dismay" over Israel's announcement last week of further construction and expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, agencies report.

"The Security Council reiterates that the continuation of Israeli settlement activities dangerously undermines the viability of the two-state solution based on the 1967 lines," reads a presidential statement of the UN SC agreed by consensus of all 15 members.

It adds that the body "strongly opposes all unilateral measures that impede peace, including, but not limited to, Israeli settlement construction and expansion, confiscation of Palestinian land and the 'legalization' of settlement outposts, demolition of Palestinian homes, and displacement of Palestinian civilians." This move by the UN SC comes after the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently approved Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and a week before that announced plans to build new homes in already established settlements.

The UN Security Council also called for "maintaining the historic status quo at holy sites in Jerusalem in word and practice," and emphasized Jordan's special role in this regard, Al Arabiya reported, which is a reaction to last month's visits by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest site for Jews, which they call the Temple Mount. The visit infuriated Palestinians and caused alarm among Arab leaders who condemned the incursion and demanded that Netanyahu's government respect the status quo of the al-Aqsa Mosque and respect Jordan's role as custodian.

Netanyahu: UN SC against "historic" rights and "unilateral"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the UN Security Council's decision, considering it equivalent to denying the "historic" rights of Jews and blaming the US for supporting the text, agencies report. Netanyahu's office issued a sharp statement stating that the UN SC's statement was "unilateral" and that it "denies the rights of Jews to live in our historic homeland."

It further states that the UN Security Council "does not mention the Palestinian terrorist attacks in Jerusalem in which 10 Israeli civilians were killed, ignores the grotesque policy of the Palestinian authorities of 'pay for slay,' which subsidizes the murder of Jews, and trivializes the evil of antisemitism, which resulted in the slaughter of millions."

Netanyahu was angry at Israel's closest ally, the US. "The statement should never have been made and the US should never have joined it," the statement said.