Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Ambassador Badr Abdel Aty stated on Thursday that Egypt fully supports the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians according to the Arab peace initiative. The U.N. Security Council voted down a Palestinian statehood resolution that called for an end of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories by 2017 and set a 12-month deadline for a peace solution, with two separate states. It also identified East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state. The ministry condemned the negative result of the vote, adding that it does not erase Palestinian legitimate rights for independence as approved by international covenants and previous Security Council resolutions. On his part Israeli representative in the UN Security Council Israel Nitzan criticized the Palestinian attempts to gain international recognition of an independent Palestinian state, saying; "I have news for the Palestinians: you cannot agitate and provoke your way to a state". On the other side, Egyptian foreign ministry warned against Israel's expansion in constructing new settlements in the West Bank as it halts peace efforts.
