MOSCOW, April 15 (KUNA) -- Russia on Friday indicated that Israel is taking advantage of the predominating "situation in Ukraine" to step up attacks on the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
"The Israeli authorities are trying to exploit the situation in Ukraine to deflect attention of the international community from the Palestinian-Israeli strife," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, clearly signaling that Tel Aviv has been escalating offensives on the Palestinians while nations of the globe are preoccupied with the events in Ukraine.
"Israel is continuing its illegitimate occupation and gradual judaization of the Palestinian territories in blunt breach of resolutions by the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly," it said.
Due to the Israeli policies, up to 2.5 million Palestinians have been living in scattered and isolated lands in the West Bank and the Jordan River, the ministry said in the statement. Gaza Strip has turned into a large prison and two million Palestinians have been coerced since 14 years ago to live under a naval-air-land siege, it continued.
The Russian Foreign Ministry castigated Western powers, namely the United States, for "complicity in protecting the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the longest occupation since World War II." Israeli security forces burst into al-Aqsa Mosque during the dawn prayers today, attacking worshippers, wounding 150 of them and arresting up to 450 others, in the latest escalatory action by the occupiers since days ago. (end) as.rk