Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, with Hamas movement's troops infiltrating border areas. On October 8, the Israeli government announced that it had invoked Article 40 of the Basic Law, which means the country was officially in a state of war.

US Does Not Recognize Palestine as Sovereign State, But Backs Independence, State Department Says

08:35, 29 February 2024

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in January that the world will see relapses of the violence that is now observed in Gaza, because without the creation of a Palestinian state, the Palestinian people will continue to feel "disadvantaged."

Sputnik

The United States does not currently recognize Palestine as a sovereign state but supports an independent Palestinian state, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Wednesday.

"We do not treat them as a sovereign state but we are trying to establish an independent Palestinian state and we do support self-determination for the Palestinian people," Miller said during a press briefing.

Russia will host an inter-Palestinian meeting in Moscow from Thursday to Saturday, where Palestinian factions are expected to discuss the prospects of forming a unity government and the future of the Gaza Strip's post-conflict reconstruction.

Since the start of war with Hamas last October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed his opposition to a Palestinian state.

Last week, the Israeli parliament voted to oppose any "unilateral" recognition of a Palestinian state.