Palestine Supporting Russia's Proposal to Hold Int'l MidEast Peace Conference, Ambassador Says
© AP Photo / Ariel Schalit
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ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Palestine supports Russia's proposal to convene an international Middle East peace conference with the participation of the members of the UN Security Council as well as the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik.
Noting that the Russian initiative aims to discuss peace initiatives based on UNSC resolutions and the two-state solution, the diplomat said, "We agree with Russia that the only way to a fair and sustainable settlement [in the Middle East] is to convene an international peace conference with the participation of the UNSC, the LAS and the OIC, which will be based on international legal resolutions, the principle of coexistence of two states and the Arab Peace Initiative".
Russia and Palestine have maintained close coordination "at all levels" since the first day of the escalation of conflict in the Gaza Strip, the ambassador said.
"Russia is providing Palestine with all types of political and diplomatic support in its capacity as a superpower and a permanent member of the UN Security Council," he said, adding that given Moscow's high status regionally and internationally, Palestine views it as a key player "capable of pressuring Israel into complying with international law and ending the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."
Israel, on the other hand, has been consistently undermining the peace process, including by controversial statements about Palestinian governance, Nofal said, pointing to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statements in which he vowed not to let the Gaza Strip "return" under the Palestinian Authority's control.
"The Palestinian Authority never left Gaza and continued working to provide better living conditions for its population. With these remarks, Netanyahu is driving the final nail in the coffin of the Oslo Accords and the peace process in general, which Israel has been undermining for the past 25 years," the Palestinian diplomat said.
The UN General Assembly voted in 1947 to divide UK-governed Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem placed under a special international regime. The partitioning was planned to take place in May 1948, when the British mandate was due to end, but only the state of Israel was established.
The Oslo Accords are the agreements made between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993, launching a peace process aimed at achieving a peace treaty based on UN Security Council resolutions and at fulfilling the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. The Palestinian National Authority was created as a result of those accords.
Russia's Play's Constructive Role
Ambassador Nofal also told Sputnik that his country appreciates the constructive role that Russia has traditionally played and continues to play in the Middle East peace process, while the United States has undermined its fitness for fair mediation due to bias.
"We express our sincere gratitude to Russia, its government and its people for protecting our people, especially in the time of this brutal, bloody and unprecedented aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip. Russia's firm support was also evident from its position in the UN Security Council, particularly Russia's efforts to stop this atrocious war and humanitarian catastrophe and to settle the conflict on the basis of well-known international resolutions. We firmly believe that Russia is putting in every effort to achieve a fair settlement. We trust Russia in this role and highly appreciate it," Nofal said.
The ambassador also thanked the Russian people for their solidarity with the Palestinians, including by sending donations, letters of support and solidarity actions in front of the Palestinian embassy in Moscow.
The relations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas "have always been trust-based and transparent," insomuch that Abbas immediately accepted Putin's proposal to hold a peace meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow, while the latter chose to ignore it, Nofal said.
Washington, on the other hand, has disrupted the peace process for years to come as it attempted to "dominate the negotiations and play the role of the only mediator," the ambassador said.
"Therefore, it is impossible for Palestine to trust the United States to broker peace single-handedly, especially in light of its blind support for mass killings Israel is committing in the Gaza Strip," he added.
No Peace Without Gaza
The Gaza Strip is an integral part of Palestine and cannot be separated or subjected to Israel's occupational or division plans, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik.
Last week, US media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was advocating the idea of an indefinite occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel. In November, Netanyahu said he would oppose the transfer of the Gaza Strip to the administrative control of the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, who had still not condemned the actions of Hamas.
"The Palestinian government led by President Mahmoud Abbas will reject any decision involving the separation of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian state. There cannot be any Palestinian state without Gaza, and no one can determine the fate of Gaza other than the Palestinian people," Nofal said.
Speaking of political disagreements with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, the ambassador said the Palestinian Authority still viewed the movement as "part of the Palestinian people."
"All that we seek is to unite the Palestinians based on the political program of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the only lawful representative of the Palestinian people, and to hold parliamentary and presidential elections as part of launching a comprehensive political process, which will undoubtedly lead to the fulfillment of our lawful national rights and aspirations," Nofal said.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 20,000 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1.
Russia has repeatedly called on both parties to stop hostilities, stating that the two-state solution approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, is the only way to end the conflict.
