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Israel carrying out operation against PNA for political aims ahead of elections — Fayed Mustafa

“No one will benefit from the escalation of violence," Palestinian Ambassador in Russia said

MOSCOW, November 16 (Itar-Tass) — Israel is carrying out an operation against the Palestine National Authority (PNA) ahead of early parliamentary elections in Israel, Palestinian Ambassador in Russia Fayed Mustafa told a press conference here on Friday.

“The experience shows that ahead of any general elections in Israel the country carries out an act of aggression against the PNA. This is done to attain its political aims,” he said. “Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his team intend to strengthen their positions at upcoming elections. This is why the leader of the Hamas military wing was killed,” the diplomat noted. “We hope that the hostilities will not last for a long time. We witness that these dramatic events raised concerns throughout the world,” Mustafa noted.

The ambassador warned Israel against a probable ground operation, for which Israel mobilized the reserve servicemen. “This inflicts more and more casualties,” he remarked.

“We are concerned that we are plunging in a vicious circle of violence. No one will benefit from the escalation of violence,” Mustafa pointed out. The diplomat emphasized that Palestine is interested only in a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

“We hope to attain a permanent ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip through the efforts of Egypt and other international players,” he said, noting that Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil arrived in the Gaza Strip for several hours.