Israel's settlement activity on the West Bank threatens to completely undermine already fragile chances for the emergence of an independent Palestinian state in the future, Alexei Skosyrev, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Middle East and North Africa Department, said on Monday at an online conference marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
"The ground realities or facts on the ground created by Israel threaten to completely undermine the already fragile chances of an independent Palestinian state ever emerging in the future. And under such conditions, many Middle East experts predict the realization of a one-state scenario in the future," he said.
According to Skosyrev, achieving a comprehensive Palestinian-Israeli settlement has been and remains a priority of Russian Middle East policy, and Moscow's position on this long-standing problem has remained unchanged for many decades. "We believe that the acquisition of national sovereignty by Palestine will be an important factor in ensuring peace in the Middle East. That is why we believe that the annual celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an important reminder to the international community of its responsibility to implement the relevant decisions of the UN Security Council," he pointed out.
The diplomat noted that on this date it is important to speak about the danger of any unilateral measures that can prejudge the settlement of disputed issues of the final status of the Palestinian state. "This refers primarily to actions related to the increase of illegal Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, to Israeli attempts to change the historical status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which we have been observing recently, to the practice of land expropriation and demolition of Palestinian homes," he added.
Skosyrev recalled that such moves by Tel Aviv were made possible primarily because of the unilateral and partisan position of the previous American administration, led by Donald Trump. "But after its departure, most of the decisions made in the Middle East, particularly in the Palestinian-Israeli track, such as recognizing all of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving the embassy there, have so far remained unchanged. Thus, the expectations of many politicians and experts that after Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election the US position would be changed or corrected did not come true," he said.
Ways to resolve the conflict
"We see how urgent the task of finding a way out of the current deadlock in the Middle East settlement is and believe that the way to this lies through the restart of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under the auspices of the Quartet," the diplomat noted.
Skosyrev also stressed that the cause would benefit from the consolidation of the Palestinian ranks on the platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization. "Fulfillment of this task would strengthen the Palestinians' position on the international arena, while the remaining split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip only benefits the opponents of the two-state solution," he added.
At the same time, the diplomat noted that Russia cherishes the high level of relations with Palestine and Israel and intensive friendly dialogue, including at the highest level.
"We believe that with joint efforts we will be able to bring closer the time when the Palestinians will achieve national independence, create their own state, the existence of which will be an important element of the system of peace and security in the region," Skosyrev concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS