The Palestinian issue: Path to peace

The war we are witnessing today in the Gaza Strip is a new nightmare for the Middle East. It is extremely difficult to believe in the reality of these events.

It is even harder to accept that this nearly century-long confrontation between
the Arabs of Palestine and the Jewish people may end in the foreseeable future with one side defeating the other on the battlefield. None will emerge victorious from this bloody conflict. This, it seems, is becoming evident to all parties today, the Palestinians, the Israelis and the external actors.

Recent events have clearly demonstrated that not all lessons from recent Middle Eastern history have been learned well. The mistakes of the past are repeated, holding the region back from making a leap into a brighter future. It has been proven many a time that terrorism in all its forms, as well as unilateral acts of violence, cannot be deemed a means of political struggle. This is an evil that brings only destruction, death and tears to civilians on both sides of the "Arab-Israeli front," while leaving the fundamental issues unaddressed. Violence escalates unabated, with the parties straying further away from their cherished goal of achieving peace and security for their peoples.

The idea to forcibly relocate Palestinians to third countries is not new. It is merely a half-measure that may alleviate symptoms of the crisis without addressing Israel’s existential demand for security and peaceful coexistence with its neighbours. Without a fair resolution to the conflict, the appeal of extremist ideology and its signature "recipes for victory" will only grow, and violence will return to Palestinian and Israeli lands, taking on new forms and scales.

Moscow maintains that the main tool in the Palestinian people’s hands is, undoubtedly, the international law. Which remains, I emphasise, overwhelmingly by the side of Palestine and its potential statehood. The two-state solution principle is the only path leading the Arab and the Jewish peoples to a just peace. The existing UN resolutions clearly indicate the actions necessary for its achievement.
The Palestinians and the Israelis must demonstrate political will to make decisive steps in this regard. The international legal framework for the Middle East is the Arab community’s valuable "political asset". Tragic mistakes cannot be made lest it be squandered.

The Palestinian project of today calls for unprecedented national unity. Barring solidarity and agreement among Palestinians, it is difficult to expect success in any eventual open and confidential dialogue with the opposing side.

This is a crucial part of the "homework" that Russia is ready to help our Palestinian friends accomplish. We will continue working with all key Palestinian factions and regional partners to ensure inter-Palestinian reconciliation, which is the instrumental in securing the future of the Palestinian cause and peace in the Middle East.

G.F.Desyatnikov is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan