Israel informs the US that it would not permit additional settlements in the next months.

JERUSALEM-(Reuters) – Israel will not permit new settlements in the occupied West Bank in the next months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday, after behind-the-scenes diplomacy to avert a scheduled U.N. Security Council vote on the contentious topic.

On February 12, Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition awarded retroactive authorization to nine settler settlements that had been built without government permission, infuriating Palestinians who desire the West Bank for a future state.

The action was also condemned by Western nations and Israel’s Arab allies, who consider all settlements illegal.

Nevertheless, the United Arab Emirates informed the United Nations Security Council that it will not hold a vote on a draught resolution condemning the settlements on Monday. Claiming “good conversations with partners,” the UAE claimed the council will instead release a consensus statement.

A Security Council decision might have put to the test Washington’s readiness to wield a veto on Israel’s behalf after openly advising its Middle Eastern partner not to approve additional settlements.

Israel has funded around 140 settlements in the West Bank, which it regards as a historical right and a security bulwark, while destroying or ignoring dozens more outposts.

“Israel assured the US that, in the future months, it would not authorise additional settlements beyond the nine currently sanctioned,” said Netanyahu’s office in a statement.