Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who is on a visit to Russia has said that long-standing peace in West Asia will be guaranteed on the condition that Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories are liberated and a decision is taken on the formation of two sovereign states namely Arab and Jewish, state media reported.
Abbas in an interview to Russian state media TASS said, “The guarantee to achieve stability and security in the Middle East is the implementation of a decision on the formation of two states, based on the international law, the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territories, which were occupied since 1967, with the capital of East Jerusalem there.”
The Palestinian leader said he believes that the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “extremist government” in Israel “does not believe in peace and positions itself above the international law and it drives the situation in the Middle East to a tenser situation.”
“If Israel wants to live in safety and peace with its neighbours as a normal, peace-loving state, it should agree to the implementation of the two-state solution that is based on an international legal framework, including the Arab Peace Initiative,” Abbas told TASS.
As per Palestinian Ambassador to Russia, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, Abbas was scheduled to pay an official visit to Russia on August 12-14 and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
Abbas’ visit to Russia is taking place against the backdrop of Egypt, Qatar and the United States calling on Israel and the Hamas movement to resume discussions on a ceasefire in Gaza.
On the eve of his Moscow visit, Abbas in an interview to Sputnik, in said that he planned to discuss the peace process for the Palestinian settlement.
Speaking about the situation in the Gaza Strip, Abbas expressed Palestine’s confidence that the Israeli government would not be able to separate Gaza from the West Bank “by military means.”
Tensions flared up in West Asia on October 7, 2003 when Hamas launched a strike on Israeli territory from Gaza killing residents and taking hostages. Israel retaliated and launched a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to destroy Hamas military and political wings and free all hostages.
Tensions in the region escalated after the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on July 31 and the elimination of Hezbollah top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut a day ago. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah held Israel responsible and asserted that the attacks will be met with retaliation.
