Arab-Israeli conflicts will continue until the Palestinians have their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, Mahmoud al-Habbash, an adviser to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, told Sputnik.
"Until the occupation ends in accordance with international legitimacy, and unless the Palestinian people receive their full national rights, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of a state with Jerusalem as its capital, conflicts will continue," al-Habbash said.
According to the adviser, "the priority of the Palestinian leadership at the moment is to stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip in order to stop the bloodshed" of the enclave's residents, as well as "to start political negotiations that would lead to the end of the occupation as such.
"After all, this round [of the confrontation between Israel and Hamas] will end, whatever the outcome. But if the occupation continues, we should expect another round, and perhaps other rounds that may be more violent, because, as I said, the problem is the presence of the occupation," the Palestinian presidential adviser said.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The operation was announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. Moreover, after massive rocket attacks, the organization's fighters infiltrated southern Israel's border areas.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within days of the attack, the Israeli military took control of all settlements near the Gaza border and began airstrikes against facilities, including civilian ones, in Gaza. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, cutting off water, food, electricity, medicine and fuel.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on the parties to cease hostilities. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Middle East crisis can be resolved only on the basis of the "two-state" formula approved by the UN Security Council. This formula provides for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict over the territorial interests of the parties has been a source of tension and hostility in the region for many decades. The UN resolution of 1947, with the active participation of the USSR, established the creation of two states - Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli state was created. Israel, while declaring its agreement with the two-state principle, has not definitively liberated the Palestinian territories.