MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Washington is pushing not only Palestine and Israel, but also the whole Middle East toward the brink of crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, addressing the 13th Middle East Conference hosted by the Valdai Discussion Club.

"Obviously, we should find a way to step back from the precipice of catastrophe which our American counterparts are pushing Palestine, Israel and the entire Middle East," Lavrov said.

Besides, the United States and its allies are seeking domination in the Middle East while seeking to squeeze Russia out of all settlement mechanisms in the region, Russia’s top diplomat lamented.

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 200 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 siege 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.