MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin called for an immediate ceasefire in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and stressed that there is no alternative to the political settlement of the Palestinian problem on the basis of international law, the Russian foreign ministry said after his meeting with Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Simona Halperin.
"The sides exchanged views on the current issues of international and regional agenda of mutual interest, which are being discussed within the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly. Amid the ongoing unprecedented escalation of violence in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, special attention was focused on the current situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank," it said.
"The Russian side once again called for an immediate ceasefire and steps to ensure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those affected or in need. It also stressed that there is no alternative to a political solution to the Palestinian problem on the basis of generally recognized international law, with the two-state solution as the central element," the ministry said. "It was noted that the October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel’s civilian population deserves every condemnation but it cannot and must not be used as a pretext for the collective punishment of millions of Palestinians, with growing threats of regional destabilization."
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.