Tensions around the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are not subsiding, and the risks of full-scale hostilities between Israel and Palestinian groups remain, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, said on Tuesday, speaking at a meeting of the Security Council of the world organization.
"We observe with concern the stagnation in the Middle East settlement, the unresolved central problem - the Palestinian problem, which creates a permanent hotbed of instability for the entire Middle East," Polyansky said. - "Tensions around the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have not abated."
"There are still risks of full-scale hostilities, similar to the military escalation we saw in May this year," the diplomat said.
According to him, the international community has urgent priorities "to achieve stabilization, to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, and to create conditions for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement process on a universally recognized international legal basis."
A ceasefire between the Jewish state and Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip came into effect on 21 May after 11 days of rocket attacks. The victims of the confrontation were 257 inhabitants of the coastal enclave, about 2 thousand people were wounded. Thirteen people were killed on the Israeli side.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS