Moscow urges Palestinians, Israelis to abide by 2012 ceasefire deal
MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry is worried about the escalation of tensions between Palestinians and Israelis and asks both sides to stick to the ceasefire regime.
"Moscow expresses its profound concern about a new outbreak of tensions around the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We condemn as impermissible any terror attacks against the civilian population, including indiscriminate bombardments of southern Israel," says a report posted on the ministry website on Thursday.
"It is important that both sides strictly abide by the ceasefire regime consistent with the agreements Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza reached in November 2012. We urge Palestinians and Israelis to avoid any steps, which may lead to an escalation of tensions and are incompatible with the task of settling all aspects of the final status of Palestinian lands at negotiations," the ministry emphasized.
Three Palestinians, who opened mortar fire on Israeli servicemen in the area of the Kerim Shalom border post, were killed by an Israeli drone on March 11, the ministry noted. Several dozens of missiles were fired from Gaza onto Israeli territory on March 12. The al-Quds Brigades, a military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the shooting. There have been no reports about Israeli casualties. The Israeli army retaliated against the attack with strikes on approximately 30 sites in Gaza.
"Tensions persist on the West Bank, where a Palestinian teenager was killed during a raid of Israeli special-purpose forces in the Ramallah area on March 10," the report said.
