RAMALLAH, December 19, 2017 (WAFA) - Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said on Tuesday that US use of the veto to defeat a draft resolution on Jerusalem in the United Nations Security Council meant that it supports the Israeli occupation, which is a violation of international law and UN General Assembly resolutions.

Hamdallah said in a statement that “the American decision will not give any legitimacy to Israeli claims over Jerusalem, the eternal capital of our state, which we will not relinquish our rule over it nor compromise on its Arab character and its Christian and Muslim holy sites or surrender the keys to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Sepulcher Church regardless of the cost.”

He added: "We will continue to act by peaceful means as we draw hope from our great people until the end of the occupation and the establishment of our independent state."

M.K.