Hamas calls for withdrawing Security Council bill

The Palestinian faction Hamas on Sunday called for the immediate withdrawal of a Palestinian draft resolution filed at the U.N. Security Council to set a timetable for Israel's pullout from Palestinian territories it has been occupying since 1967.

"The draft resolution contains massive concessions," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

He added in a statement that these "concessions" violate what he called the Palestinian people's "non-negotiable rights."

Earlier this month, Jordan, which enjoys non-permanent Security Council membership, submitted a draft resolution prepared by the Palestinian Authority which, if passed, would bind Israel to a November 2017 deadline for withdrawal from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.

The blueprint also names East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders.

"The whole of Jerusalem is Palestinian," Abu Zuhri said. "This cannot be negotiated," he added, noting that the Palestinian draft resolution at the Security Council did not represent all Palestinians.

Abu Zuhri lashed out at what he described as the "loose" wording of the draft resolution, especially when it comes to the right of millions of Palestinians to return to their original homes in Palestine.

"It [the resolution] does not clearly state that the right of return for Palestinians is fundamental and cannot be violated," Abu Zuhri said.

"This blueprint gives the occupation more legitimacy than it had ever dreamed of," he added, expecting the draft resolution to be used in the future against the Palestinian cause itself.

The Hamas spokesman went on to call on the Arab League, which backs the resolution, not to give it a political cover.

The date for voting on the resolution, however, has yet to be announced.

But the U.S. administration, which holds a veto power within the Security Council, had announced that it would not support the draft.