RAMALLAH, December 24, 2016 (WAFA) – Palestinians hailed the United Nations Security Council vote on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as victory and blow to Israeli policies.

At the same time, Israeli officials expressed dismay at the resolution and said Israel would not abide by its terms.

The 15-member Security Council voted 14 to 0 with one abstention from the United States on a Palestinian resolution submitted by Venezuela, Senegal, New Zealand and Malaysia condemning Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and calling for an end to settlement construction.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the vote was “a blow to Israeli policies” and “a unanimous international condemnation of settlements.”

The Palestinian government also welcomed the vote, describing it as “a big historic achievement, a victory to Palestinian rights and rejection of the Israeli occupation in all its forms,” according to a statement for the government spokesman Yousef el-Mahmoud.

He said the resolution establishes for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Palestinian officials and factions in general welcomed the vote, as well as several governments who unanimously condemned Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian land, expressing concern that the settlements will undermine the two-state solution and chances of durable and just peace in the Middle East.

Israel, however, was alone in condemning the resolution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government will not abide by its terms, adding that he will work with the incoming US administration to overturn it.

This is the first time in decades that the Security Council has passed a resolution favorable to the Palestinians. The US vetoed five years ago a similar resolution on settlements.

M.K.