MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. The declaration passed by Israel’s Knesset (parliament) on the "principled position" against establishing a Palestinian state violates international law and destabilizes the region, Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev opined.
"Should we assess the Knesset resolution through the prism of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 478, we can conclude that it clearly conflicts with international law. Although what can we can talk about here, when on May 10 the Israeli ambassador shredded the UN Charter right at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in full view of the entire world?" the senator wrote on his Telegram channel.
Kosachev recalled that the two-state solution was worked out by a UN expert commission, adopted by the world community at the UN General Assembly in November 1947 and enshrined in a resolution. Moreover, Kosachev added, in 1980 the UN Security Council passed a legally binding resolution which condemned Israel’s 1980 Jerusalem Law, which declared the Holy City "the complete and united" capital of Israel.
"That resolution orders Israel to cancel any legal and administrative actions which are designed to forcibly alter the status of the Holy City, and calls upon third countries to withdraw diplomatic missions from Jerusalem," the politician said.
The deputy speaker of the upper house of Russia’s parliament said that the resolution passed by Israel’s parliament is deeply regrettable and frustrating.
"According to Knesset members, ‘the establishment of a Palestinian state would pose an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens, perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and destabilize the region.’ In fact, it is not the establishment of a Palestinian state that destabilizes the region, but such Knesset resolutions, in addition to other things," Kosachev said.
The senator believes that the irrational reaction of the Israeli lawmakers who voted for the declaration is a response to the change in the status quo on Palestine, which Israel cannot ignore any longer.
"To date, Palestinian statehood has been recognized by 147 out of 193 UN member countries," the senator said.
Knesset’s decision
Earlier, the Israeli parliament overwhelmingly passed the declaration on its "principled position" against the establishment of a Palestinian state. It says that Palestinian statehood "would pose an existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens," would "be a reward for terrorism" and "destabilize the region". The legislators said in the declaration that "it will only be a matter of a short time" after the establishment of a Palestinian state until the radical movement Hamas ruling in the Gaza Strip takes it over and "turns it into a radical Islamic terror base that operates in coordination with the Iranian-led axis to eliminate the State of Israel.".