Russia passes draft decrying Israeli rejection of Palestinian State
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The lower house of Russia's parliament adopts a draft condemning the Israeli Knesset's vote against Palestinian Statehood.
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Leonid Slutsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Moscow, Russia, Friday, February 23, 2024. (AP)
Russia's lower parliamentary house passed a draft statement denouncing the Israeli vote against the establishment of an independent Palestinian State.
On Thursday, the State Duma's foreign affairs committee head, Leonid Slutsky, stated that the draft accused the Israeli Knesset of violating international law and subverting the peace process in the Middle East.
The document further urges other national parliaments and international parliamentary organizations to condemn the Knesset and take steps to swiftly resolve the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict, enhance cooperation in countering terrorism, and seek political and diplomatic solutions to conflicts, including through parliamentary diplomacy and interparliamentary dialogue.
Read more: States, bodies decry Knesset res. against establishing Palestine state
Israeli Knesset overwhelmingly votes against Palestinian State
On July 18, the Israeli Knesset voted to pass a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state on Thursday ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's potential visit to Washington.
Parties from Netanyahu's coalition and right-wing parties from the opposition, including Benny Gantz's State Camp party, co-sponsored the resolution. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in the Knesset, "The Palestinian State cannot be established because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people."
Knesset members from Opposition leader Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party left the hall to avoid voting on the resolution, despite the party taking a strict position in favor of a "two-state solution."
The Israeli Labor Party, Ra'am, and Hadash-Ta'al were the only parties not to back the measure.
