The Foreign Ministry announced a new stage in the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be stopped, and on the basis of the “two-state” formula approved by the UN, an independent Palestinian state must be created within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, it says in a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Palestinian-Israeli confrontation has reached a new stage of escalation, according to the Foreign Ministry. They recalled that this week Israel began a ground military operation in the Gaza Strip, although Moscow has repeatedly warned about the dangerous consequences of such a step.

The Foreign Ministry recalled that in order to prevent the escalation of the conflict, Russia initiated a draft UN Security Council resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire. The project was blocked by the American side, but on October 27 the UN General Assembly accepted a resolution that contains “an unequivocal signal to stop the violence.”

It is necessary to restart negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in order to implement the “two-state” formula approved by the UN, the statement said.

“On its basis, an independent Palestinian state should be created within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, coexisting in peace and security with Israel,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Russia, which is in contact with all interested parties, is making its contribution to “achieving a peaceful outcome to the conflict,” the department added. The Russian side, the ministry emphasized, “warns against adventurous decisions by those external players who are tempted to spark another big war in the Middle East and reverse the positive evolution of this strategically important region.”

In recent weeks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced a full-scale ground operation in Gaza. This was preceded by an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel on October 7. On the evening of October 27, the Israeli military announced the expansion of the ground operation in the enclave. The next day there stated about 150 strikes on underground facilities in the Gaza Strip. Russian Ambassador Alexander Ben statedthat Israel has not yet launched a large-scale ground operation.