Mohammad Shtayyeh
Mohammad ShtayyehReuters

Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh on Monday welcomed the resolution passed by the US House of Representatives which calls for the endorsement of the “two-state solution”.

Speaking at the opening of the weekly PA cabinet meeting and quoted by the Xinhua news agency, Shtayyeh accused the current US administration of is undermining the widely accepted basis of peace negotiations between the PA and Israel.

He said the US has adopted measures undermining the two-state solution, referring to the recent statements by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he said that the US no longer views Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria as "inconsistent with international law."

The resolution passed by the US House of Representatives on Friday is "in harmony with international law that prohibits settlements and the occupation of territory by force," claimed Shtayyeh.

The resolution approved on Friday was originally introduced by Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) and co-sponsored by 192 lawmakers from the Democratic party. It was approved by a majority of 226 to 188.

The resolution was passed a day after lawmakers adopted two amendments that were meant to satisfy Republican and Democratic demands to achieve bipartisan consensus.

The amendments reaffirmed US military support for Israel and called for resumption of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian Arabs, which was cut by the Trump administration.

The resolution expressed supports for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and warned Israel against any attempts toward annexation of territory in the West Bank

Meanwhile, Shtayyeh also welcomed the initiative of Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn to push the European Union member states to recognize “Palestine” as a state in response to Pompeo's declaration.

PA officials have been pressuring countries to officially recognize “Palestine”, in a move meant to bypass direct peace talks with Israel.

While several European countries have recognized “Palestine” in recent years, those moves were symbolic ones that have little, if any, actual diplomatic effect.