Rejected US Resolution Condemning Hamas Could Have Worsened Situation In Gaza - Moscow

Rejected US Resolution Condemning Hamas Could Have Worsened Situation in Gaza - Moscow

The situation in the Gaza Strip could have been severely exacerbated if the US-sponsored resolution that condemns the Hamas movement's actions against Israel was adopted, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday, adding that the resolution would have threatened the security of Israel itself.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2018) The situation in the Gaza Strip could have been severely exacerbated if the US-sponsored resolution that condemns the Hamas movement's actions against Israel was adopted, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday, adding that the resolution would have threatened the security of Israel itself.

On Thursday, the resolution failed to receive the necessary two-thirds majority in the UN General Assembly the final vote count was 87-57 in favor, with 33 abstentions. Russia was one of the countries that opposed the document.

"We are convinced that the approval of the proposed unbalanced text could have seriously complicated efforts, including Russian ones, to promote intra-Palestinian reconciliation and formation of unified power structures in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It could have exploded the situation in Gaza and, ultimately, posed additional security risks for Israel itself," the statement said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry believed that the main cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not the activities of Hamas, but non-compliance with the decisions of the United Nations and the UN Security Council on the Arab-Israeli settlement in general.

At the same time, the ministry stressed that Russia strongly condemned all aggressive attacks and violence against the civilian population, including rocket attacks against Israel.

The ministry added that the US-initiated document did not refer to the need for a settlement based on two-state solution, and, thus, cast doubt on the entire internationally recognized basis for the Israeli-Palestinian settlement.

Violence between Israel and the Hamas militant group, which runs the Gaza Strip, erupted last month after a Hamas commander was killed in a covert Israeli operation. An Israeli officer also died in the ensuing gunfight. The Israeli military said it had intercepted over 100 out of 460 rockets fired from Gaza and attacked 160 militant targets in the enclave. The violence significantly decreased after a new ceasefire agreement was reached under Egypt's mediation.