MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Launching direct negotiations on a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel is hardly possible right now, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov said.

"They will hardly engage right now. The Israelis are simply embittered," Lavrov said in an interview with Belarus’ BelTA news agency.

Numerous hostile "statements by [Israeli] officials" show how bitter Israel is, the Russian foreign minister said, referring to the recent rhetoric by Israel’s premier, defense and economy ministers and other Cabinet members. The Palestinians have been on the edge, too, "given thousands of civilians who have been killed or wounded as a result of Israeli return fire," Lavrov added. He dismissed as unreal the idea of inviting Israel and the Palestinians to dialogue right now, as a huge number of people in both Israel and Palestine as well as foreigners have been killed.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7 when Hamas militants launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian movement 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. Israel declared a total siege 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.