Russia FM urges Israel to avoid unilateral actions in West Bank

Israel should avoid unilateral actions on the occupied territories in the West Bank, including the unlawful practice of destroying Palestinian houses there, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a video address to participants of the Mediterranean Dialogues international conference in Moscow.

"Any unilateral actions by Israel should be avoided. I am referring to Israel’s rapidly intensified settlement policy and the illegal demolition of Palestinian houses in the West Bank," Lavrov said.

In his opinion, the situation in that complicated region "will never be completely stabilized as long as the old wound of the Arab-Israeli conflict remains open."

Russia is closely watching the nascent normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab countries, the foreign minister continued.

"We believe that any move towards interaction is a positive development," he added.

At the same time, Lavrov said that such rapprochement must not be accepted as a substitute for the settlement of the Palestinian problem on the basis of international law and urged to consolidate international efforts in order to resume direct Palestinian-Israeli talks as soon as possible.

Earlier this week, the UN General Assembly adopted four annual resolutions in support of Palestine and against Israel’s actions. In those documents, the assembly calls upon all states to contribute to self-determination of the Palestinian people and promote Middle East peace process based on the two-state solution. All resolutions were adopted by overwhelming majority. The United States, Israel, Canada and Australia were among those who traditionally voted against.

In a resolution, headlined "Peaceful Settlement of Question of Palestine," the UN General Assembly demands to completely halt all Israeli settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Al-Quds (Jerusalem). It also calls for the cessation of all provocations, including by Israeli settlers, in East Al-Quds, including in and around religious sites.