KAZAN, October 24. /TASS/. The situation around Palestine should be fundamentally changed, based on the two-state principle that envisages the creation of an independent Palestine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"We must do everything to fundamentally change the situation. A Palestinian state is certainly central to this, as envisioned by the relevant UN decisions. It is also essential to fully implement these decisions," he said at the BRICS Plus/Outreach meeting following Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's speech.

The two-state formula envisions an independent Palestine within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting in peace with Israel. Putin noted that a democratic settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict is possible only on the basis of this formula.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 250 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.