MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. Officials in Washington often contact the authorities in Palestine, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told TASS, commenting on the ongoing debate at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) about a ceasefire in Gaza.

"Since October 7, the UN Security Council has put a ceasefire resolution to vote three times. This decision is necessary in legal and humanitarian terms, but America has been against a ceasefire as it uses its veto power every time," Abbas said in an interview with TASS First Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I am not telling only you about it, I also communicate this directly to US officials. By the way, they always contact us," he added.

Earlier, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky argued that the UNSC had actually been held hostage by the US which he said was blocking any action toward an immediate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. According to him, the UNSC has been unable to formulate an adequate response to the latest escalation in the Middle East due to the US pandering to Israel.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Palestinian radical movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a ground operation in the enclave with a view to destroying Hamas military and political and freeing all hostages. Clashes are ongoing in the Gaza Strip.