TEL AVIV, February 16. /TASS/. Israel strongly rejects international pressure on the issue of permanent peace with the Palestinians and believes that a lasting solution can be achieved only in direct negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"Israel strongly rejects international pressure on the issue of a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. An agreement of this kind will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions," the premier wrote on the X social network.

In his words, Israel continues to oppose unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state, because, keeping in mind last year’s attack on Israel by Hamas, it will "come as a reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace process."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas 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. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes were also reported in the West Bank.