CAIRO, October 17. /TASS/. The Palestinian radical movement Hamas condemns any countries that did not support Russia’s draft resolution on the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the UN Security Council, the movement said in a statement on Tuesday on its Telegram channel.
"We vehemently condemn the stance of those countries which voted in the [UN] Security Council against the Russian draft resolution that called for a ceasefire in order to open humanitarian corridors, provide aid and save civilians," the statement reads.
Izzat al-Rishq, a Hamas spokesman, stressed that "Hamas values Russia’s position regarding the Israeli act of aggression in Gaza, along with the draft resolution it submitted to the UN Security Council."
The Palestinian movement also said in the statement that "the countries which rejected the draft resolution to open humanitarian corridors are responsible for the ongoing bloodshed among civilians in the Gaza Strip."
Earlier this week, the UN Security Council did not adopt Russia’s draft resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Five countries voted in favor of the document (Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, Mozambique), six countries abstained (Albania, Brazil, Ghana, Malta, Switzerland, Ecuador) and four voted against (the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Japan).
Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said after the vote that Western countries opposed the draft resolution specifically because Russia proposed it.
"We are deeply disappointed with the results of the vote <...>. There is nothing in the resolution that can be questioned, because it is purely humanitarian in nature, and the only reason why the resolution was not adopted is that they (Western countries - TASS) did not want to support anything that comes from Russia," he stated earlier in the day.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on 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 in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.
According to the latest official data, more than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed in this latest outbreak of violence, while over 11,200 others have sustained wounds. In Israel, over 1,500 people have lost their lives and over 4,200 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.