Don't look to UN for solution, US envoy tells Palestine

By Canberk Yuksel

NEW YORK

Palestinians should not look to the United Nations for a solution but engage Israel directly, United States' envoy to the global body said Tuesday.

Ambassador Nikki Haley and Palestine's permanent UN observer Riyad Mansour met Tuesday in New York.

In a statement after the meeting, Haley urged the Palestinian Authority to sit down with Israel in direct talks "rather than looking to the UN to deliver results that can only be achieved through the two parties".

Haley also accused the Authority of “incitement to violence”. Her statement did not reference Israel or its actions except while encouraging direct negotiations.

President Donald Trump, who appointed Haley to the position, has positioned himself as a strong supporter of Israel.

He has controversially suggested -- and then backpedaled on -- moving the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would mean effectively recognizing the hallowed, historic city as of the Jewish state.

Settlement activity, condemned internationally, has also been on the rise since he was sworn in -- thousands more have been approved in three separate plans.

Approximately 500,000 Israelis now live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built since Israel occupied the Palestinian West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967.

The Palestinians want these areas -- along with the Gaza Strip -- for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.