NEW YORK, December 27, 2016 (WAFA) - Neturei Karta International (NKI), a religious Jewish group that opposes the State of Israel and its actions, Tuesday welcomed the United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements as illegal.

It said the Israeli settlements have been a major cause for bloodshed and unrest in the Holy Land for decades, with hundreds of innocent lives “sacrificed on the altar of nationalism and lust for land.”

“We congratulate the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, on his success in achieving the passage of this resolution,” it said.

It also praised the countries in the Security Council for taking what it described as a “long-overdue step toward justice and peace.”

NKI said they are “pained by the actions of the State of Israel in general, and the radical settlers in particular, since they claim to be acting in our name.”

“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has vowed to continue building settlements, but we appeal to the world to realize that the Jewish people in general are not behind him. This show of defiance against the world community and the United States for taking up a just cause is completely against the Torah,” said Neturei Karta.

It added that American Orthodox Jews in particular “are embarrassed and completely disgusted by Netanyahu and his supporters’ vicious attacks on President [Barack] Obama.”

It said, “We also wish to state that the Zionists have no right to control the Western Wall and other holy sites of Jerusalem. All claims the Israeli government makes to these places are baseless.”

M.H./M.K