On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution initiated by New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia and Senegal in a 14-0 vote. The resolution states that Israel should immediately and completely cease all settlement activities on "occupied Palestinian territory," including in East Jerusalem.
"We very much regret that a number of countries with which we have very good neighborly relations, voted in favor of this resolution, including Russia. We perceive this resolution as a hostile act against Israel and therefore, we express our dissatisfaction with the ways that we have available," Elkin, who is also the minister of environmental protection and a member of the security committee, said.
“Unilateral steps by the Palestinians in the international arena are also contrary to the agreements between Israel and the Palestinians in the framework of the Oslo agreements. Russia is one of the guarantors of this agreement, and this is a great, in my view, mistake to allow this unilateral Palestinian appeal to the international bodies,” Elkin said.
The Oslo Accords are a set of agreements signed in the 1990s between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
They provide the founding principles of the self-government arrangements on the Palestinian territories and mark the start of a peace process aimed at fulfilling the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
Following the adoption of the resolution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned 14 ambassadors of the UN Security Council (UNSC) member states, as well as cancelling international negotiations.
Over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which Israel captured during the 1967 war. The settlements are considered illegal by the United Nations.
