Russia: Israel’s unilateral measures main reason for conflict with Palestinians

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that the main reason for violence in the occupied territories is Israel’s unilateral measures, international news agencies reported.

In a speech at the UN Security Council meeting on the Palestinian issue, Lavrov said that the main reason for the outbreak of violence is Israel’s unilateral measures to create facts on the ground and use force to protect them.

We cannot accept settlement expansion, home demolitions, confiscation of land and mass arrests

he told the meeting, which Israel’s envoy Gilad Erdan walked out of.

“Against the background of all this, we believe that all factors must be grouped around the two-state solution, which includes a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Lavrov said.

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Lavrov, who also blamed “extremist” Palestinian discourse, stressed that the two-state solution will only be possible through direct negotiations on all core issues.

He expressed regret that the United States and the European Union did not contribute to the process, “but they continue to take unhelpful and unfair steps towards all parties.”

Palestinian-Israeli peace talks have stalled since April 2014, because of Israel’s refusal to release veteran detainees, halt settlement construction and commit to the two-state solution.

Israeli envoy to the UN Gilad Erdan had demanded that the Security Council session be postponed because it was being held as Israel celebrated Memorial Day, commemorating those killed attacking Palestinians during the Nakba.