Egypt was seeking to avoid vetoing a draft resolution banning Israel from building settlements on the occupied Palestinian lands, therefore it decided to take more time before putting it to vote, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

Egypt was planning to put the draft resolution in blue, meaning it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later, but it asked for more time to make sure that veto right would not be used against the resolution, Ahmed Abu Zeid said.

Egypt's decision was triggered by US President-elect Donald Trump's announcement that he asked the incumbent US administration to veto the resolution, Abu Zeid expounded.

He added that Egypt is a key partner in sponsoring Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in coordination with the coming US administration in order to reach an all-out and just settlement to the Palestinian issue.

Source: MENA