UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour on Tuesday criticized Nikki Haley, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to the UN, for hostility to the Palestinian people.
"Ambassador Haley, unfortunately, exhibited an excessive amount of hostility to the Palestinian people and to the Palestinian cause," Mansour told reporters after a Security Council meeting on the question of Palestine.
Haley was more aggressive, more pro-Israeli than previous U.S. ambassadors, he said.
"Different representatives of the United States were always showing massive support to Israel. But yet in the same time, there was a bit more balance in terms of not ignoring the Palestinian side completely," said Mansour, who has seen many U.S. ambassadors to the UN since he served the post in 2005.
Haley, who is stepping down at the end of the month, made her last statement on the issue of Palestine at Tuesday's Security Council meeting. She will be replaced by Heather Nauert, the current U.S. State Department spokesperson.
In her speech, Haley asked Israelis and Palestinians to engage in a new Middle East peace plan yet to be unveiled by the Trump administration.
The plan contains elements that both sides will like and dislike, noted the U.S. ambassador, who said she had read the plan.
She asked Israelis and Palestinians to focus on parts they like and encourage negotiations to move forward.
"Both sides would benefit greatly from a peace agreement, but the Palestinians would benefit more, and the Israelis would risk more," said Haley.
