MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. It’s crucial to bring the parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back to the negotiating table, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) International Affairs Committee, pointed out.

"The main thing is to end the bloodshed and bring the parties back to the negotiating table, which won’t be easy," he said at a lunch event he hosted for participants a TASS-hosted roundtable titled "Russia-Turkey: The Role of Media in Boosting Cooperation."

"We are trying to use various channels and one of them will probably make it possible to achieve some results. We are certainly not the only ones seeking to make mediation efforts. However, it is too early to say anything," Slutsky noted.

"There is a need to find a way to end military activities, and the sooner the better. Russia is capable and willing to act as a mediator and help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Slutsky added.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel declared a state of readiness for war, announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank. Over 1,500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,800 have suffered wounds; in Israel, the death toll stands at about 1,500 and almost 4,000 people have been wounded.