BEIJING, October 18. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin does not think that divergences in opinion between Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and in the rest of Palestine are indicative of any mutual animosity between them.

"There are disagreements within the [greater] Palestinian community, both in the West Bank and Gaza, but I would not call them antagonistic," the Russian leader told reporters.

Putin noted that the reaction of West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the current flare-up of tensions in Gaza shows that he "does not have a belligerent attitude toward the Gaza Strip and those in charge of the situation there." "This does not mean that it is unnecessary to boost the level of interaction. Nor does it mean that it is unnecessary to strive for the unity of the Palestinian community or society as a whole," the Russian president stressed. "Certainly, the Palestinians should aspire to this, but it’s their business; we cannot manage this process," he added.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into 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 on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.