UNITED NATIONS, September 27. /TASS/. The Middle East is on the cusp of a major war, which "some people want very much," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"The Middle East is again teetering the brink of a major war, which some people seem to want very, very much," he at a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.
Lavrov said that even though the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly passed several resolutions calling for a ceasefire and sustainable humanitarian access to Gaza, the Israeli military operation continues.
"Ten days ago, the General Assembly approved a resolution in support of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which unequivocally states the illegal nature of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the need to end it. The overwhelming majority of the council members supported this initiative aimed at achieving a just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the realization of the Palestinians' right to establish their own independent state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," he continued.
The minister said there are unambiguous UN decisions on this issue, and it is a common goal to ensure their implementation.
"The unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict has a destabilizing effect <...> on the entire region. The crisis around Gaza, unprecedented in its ferocity and destructive consequences, has become a catalyst for a sharp escalation of the Lebanese-Israeli confrontation, and the images of continued shelling along the Blue Line and deep into the territories of Lebanon and Israel have already traveled around the world," he said.
Israel condemned
Lavrov also said that at least 558 people, including 50 children and 94 women, were killed in sweeping Israeli bombardments of Lebanon on September 23 alone.
"More than 1,600 people were injured," he said. "Two staff members of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees were among those killed. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes."
The minister said Moscow strongly condemns Israeli actions that violate Lebanon's sovereignty.
"We strongly condemn the actions of the Israeli side that grossly violate the sovereignty of Lebanon, which is friendly to us. Indiscriminate attacks, whose victims are civilians, are categorically unacceptable. The path of war that West Jerusalem has chosen will not help it return internally displaced persons to the north of the country or ensure security in the Lebanese-Israeli border area. This is evidenced by the experience of the Israeli campaign of 2006, when even the entire arsenal of the most advanced military equipment and weapons did not help Israel to achieve its objectives," he stated.