Yesterday Israeli aviation bombed the Gaza Strip in response to missile attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered negotiators to leave Cairo, where an agreement to extend a truce had been reached. Local media have already started publishing articles about the negotiations as a failure. The talks were meant to cease the operation in the Gaza Strip that started on July 8 and has resulted in over 2,000 Palestinians and over 60 Israeli soldiers killed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the situation around the Gaza Strip with Saeb Erekat, a member of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the head of the UN Department for Negotiations with Israel. The diplomats paid special attention to efforts aimed at overcoming the complicated repercussions of armed confrontation between the Israeli army and Palestinian groups in Gaza. Erekat confirmed that the basis for any steps towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict around Gaza was the Egyptian initiative to mediate. Moscow supposes that conditions ruling out repetition of the violent scenario and encouraging full-fledged settlement of the Palestinian problem were the main result of the Gaza agreements. Lavrov confirmed the readiness of Russia to assist in peacekeeping efforts to form an independent, viable, integral Palestinian state living peacefully with Israel. Russia will aid in maintaining bilateral contacts and international formats, mainly the Middle East quartet of international mediators.
Lavrov told Ereket that Russia was fully backing the initiative of Egypt to mediate at the Israeli-Palestinian talks in Cairo. He emphasized that the sides should reach an agreement on a long-term and stable truce. Ereket named two basic goals of Palestine at negotiations with Israel. The first one is “ceasing the aggression against the Gaza Strip to make temporary peace, lift the blockade from the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip and its inhabitants are in such a situation today. The situation is catastrophic because the aggression against the strip had a political goal, like all wars, the aggression was aimed against the national project of Palestine.” The second goal is return to the borders of 1967 and the formation of the Palestinian state with the capital in East Jerusalem.
In Ereket’s words, “the Israeli government headed by Netanyahu is trying to destroy the concept of peaceful coexistence of the two states and plans to resolve the problem. In any case, we sought and found support from our Russian friends in Moscow and hope that this and the following month will witness new efforts and negotiations that, we hope, would lead to breakthrough steps that would allow us to talk about the prospects of our people.”
that would live in peace with IsraelYesterday Israeli aviation bombed the Gaza Strip in response to missile attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered negotiators to leave Cairo, where an agreement to extend a truce had been reached. Local media have already started publishing articles about the negotiations as a failure. The talks were meant to cease the operation in the Gaza Strip that started on July 8 and has resulted in over 2,000 Palestinians and over 60 Israeli soldiers killed.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the situation around the Gaza Strip with Saeb Erekat, a member of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the head of the UN Department for Negotiations with Israel. The diplomats paid special attention to efforts aimed at overcoming the complicated repercussions of armed confrontation between the Israeli army and Palestinian groups in Gaza. Erekat confirmed that the basis for any steps towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict around Gaza was the Egyptian initiative to mediate. Moscow supposes that conditions ruling out repetition of the violent scenario and encouraging full-fledged settlement of the Palestinian problem were the main result of the Gaza agreements. Lavrov confirmed the readiness of Russia to assist in peacekeeping efforts to form an independent, viable, integral Palestinian state living peacefully with Israel. Russia will aid in maintaining bilateral contacts and international formats, mainly the Middle East quartet of international mediators.Lavrov told Ereket that Russia was fully backing the initiative of Egypt to mediate at the Israeli-Palestinian talks in Cairo. He emphasized that the sides should reach an agreement on a long-term and stable truce. Ereket named two basic goals of Palestine at negotiations with Israel. The first one is “ceasing the aggression against the Gaza Strip to make temporary peace, lift the blockade from the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip and its inhabitants are in such a situation today. The situation is catastrophic because the aggression against the strip had a political goal, like all wars, the aggression was aimed against the national project of Palestine.” The second goal is return to the borders of 1967 and the formation of the Palestinian state with the capital in East Jerusalem.In Ereket’s words, “the Israeli government headed by Netanyahu is trying to destroy the concept of peaceful coexistence of the two states and plans to resolve the problem. In any case, we sought and found support from our Russian friends in Moscow and hope that this and the following month will witness new efforts and negotiations that, we hope, would lead to breakthrough steps that would allow us to talk about the prospects of our peopl
