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Summary The Palestinians urged UNSC to take action against Israel for accelerating settlement construction.
The Palestinians urged the UN Security Council on Thursday to take action against Israel for accelerating settlement construction and illegally hijacking Palestinian tax revenue in retaliation for their new membership in UNESCO.Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, warned that if Israels actions arent stopped immediately, the volatile region might see further escalations and provocations.Palestine won its first major international endorsement on Monday when the Paris-based United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization voted to grant it full membership, a decision that immediately led to a cutoff in funding from the United States and Canada.Israel retaliated by announcing construction of 2,000 new apartments in east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want their capital, and temporarily suspending the transfer of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenue that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.The bottom line is we want the Security Council to react to this latest escalation and provocation with a view of stopping it and containing it, Mansour said, adding that it would welcome a council statement or resolution.The UNESCO vote came as the Security Council is considering an application for full UN membership by the Palestinians.The councils committee on admissions was meeting Thursday afternoon to record positions of the 15 members so that a report can be prepared for consideration by the committee on Nov. 11.
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