MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. The United States has neglected the mechanisms of the Middle East settlement in recent years and tried to replace the solution of political problems with ‘material handouts’, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Russian Energy Week.

"What is the problem today? Settlement mechanisms have been created, but the US has neglected these mechanisms in recent years and decided to settle everything on its own, has not used these mechanisms," the Russian leader said, commenting on the escalation between Israel and Palestine.

According to Putin, the US "in recent years has bet on meeting the material needs of the population living in the Palestinian territories." "In essence, they have tried to replace the solution of fundamental political problems with some material handouts," the president said.

"Of course, for people who have a low standard of living, it is very important to solve socio-economic problems. But we have always said that this is not enough. Without solving the fundamental political issues, the most important of which is the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, it is impossible to solve the problem as a whole. Nevertheless, this is exactly what has been bet on," Putin pointed out.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.

According to the latest official data, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 5,100 others have suffered wounds. In Israel, over 1,200 people have lost their lives and roughly 3,000 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.