UNITED NATIONS, January 6. /TASS/. Russia expects the new Israeli Cabinet will not embark on the escalation course but will show the political will and forgo radical steps, Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at the UN Security Council’s meeting.
The escalation of tensions amid the visit of the Israel’s national security minister to the Al Aqsa mosque compound on January 3 gives rise to the most serious concerns, the Russian diplomat said. "It is difficult to perceive this incident other than in the light of events in 2000, when the visit of Ariel Sharon protected by hundreds of police officers to the Temple Mount had served as ‘a trigger’ to start ‘the Second Intifada," when several thousand people died from both sides, Nebenzya said.
"We remind again that it is unacceptable to violate the historical and legal status quo of Jerusalem - the cradle of three monotheistic religions - and Holy Sites situated there," the envoy said. "We note at the same time the stabilizing role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan historically responsible for the protection of Islamic sacred places and provision of free access to them. Disagreements around this city remain one of main sources of instability not merely in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict but also in the entire Middle East. Such steps threaten to ultimately ‘rock’ the situation and result in large-scale armed clashes, which we have already witnessed more than once," the Russian diplomat noted.
"In this regard, we strongly urge both parties to demonstrate restraint and refrain from provocative steps and unilateral actions," Nebenzya said. "We expect in particular that the new Israeli Cabinet will not embark on the escalation course but will show the political will and renounce radical steps in creating irreversible realities on the ground, including destruction of houses of the Palestinians and confiscation of their property, for purposes of the soonest possible resumption of the peaceful settlement process," he added.