(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Hamas said yesterday it was "totally opposed" to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's plans to re-submit to the UN Security Council a resolution on ending Israel's occupation which failed last week.
"Hamas is totally opposed to any return to the UN Security Council by the Palestinian Authority," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.
"Such a step would be political foolishness which plays a dangerous game with the destiny of our nation.
"Mahmoud Abbas and the leadership of the Palestinian Authority should completely stop this political foolishness," Abu Zuhri said.
On January 2, the Palestinian leadership decided to refile a draft resolution setting a deadline for reaching a final peace deal and ending the occupation. The draft had failed to pass a vote in the Security Council on December 30.
Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said the resolution would be presented again "soon", without saying exactly when.
The vote saw Security Council heavyweights China, France and Russia among eight countries who gave their support, while the US and Australia voted against.
Five other countries, including Britain, abstained - among them Nigeria which had been expected to vote in favour but changed its stance at the last minute.
The failure to win the nine "yes" votes necessary for the resolution to be adopted spared Washington from having to wield its veto, a move sure to cause embarrassment with its key Arab allies.
But it was a diplomatic blow for the Palestinians who had been counting on the symbolic victory of nine votes, even though the resolution would in all likelihood have been blocked by a US veto.
Kuwait court jails online activist
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait's supreme court yesterday sentenced an opposition activist to 20 months in jail on charges of insulting the emirate's ruler on Twitter. Sager Al Hashash was handed a two-year prison term by a lower court in March 2013 but released by an appeals court which later reduced the sentence to one year. The new verdict is final and can not be challenged.
Hashash was charged with writing tweets in October 2012 deemed offensive to the emir at a time of opposition-led protests against the government for amending Kuwait's electoral law.
The courts have handed down prison sentences to several opposition activists and former MPs for remarks deemed insulting to the Emir, H H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.
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