CAIRO, Dec 24 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's foreign ministry said that the decision to withdraw the anti-settlement resolution Egypt had put forward before the UNSC, was intended to give the resolution more time to make sure that it would not be vetoed.

The resolution which was submitted on Dec 22 stated that the establishment of settlements by Israel on Palestinian territories "has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution".

It demanded that" Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem".

But after talks with US president-elect Donald Trump and Israeli officials, Egypt pulled back the resolution and asked to postpone the voting.

Egypt explained in a statement published on the foreign ministry's official page that as a key partner to any future Palestinian- Israeli negotiations in coordination with the new US administration, it was important that Egypt maintains a "balance" in its stance to guarantee its ability to influence future negotiations.

Despite Egypt's withdrawal, four UNSC members namely, New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal proceeded with putting the resolution up for voting at the 15-member council.

The resolution won the vast majority of votes with only one abstention from the US.

 The US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said "It is because this resolution reflects the facts on the ground and is consistent with U.S. policy across Republican and Democratic administrations throughout the history of the state of Israel, that the United States did not veto it."

"It is because this forum too often continues to be biased against Israel, because there are important issues that are not sufficiently addressed in this resolution and because the United States does not agree with every word in this text, that the United States did not vote in favour," Power added.

Israel described the resolution as "shameful" and said it "will not abide by its terms". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu instructed Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal, both among the countries that tabled and voted for the resolution, to return to Israel for consultations.