RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Moscow on Aug. 12-14, Russia’s media reported on Tuesday, citing a diplomatic source.
President Mahmoud Abbas told Russia’s RIA state news agency that the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and will complicate dialogue on resolving the crisis.
He said, “There is no doubt that the aim of Haniyeh’s assassination is to prolong the conflict and expand its scope”. He said that it would have a negative impact on the current talks to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran last week, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled deep concern that the war in the Gaza Strip was turning into a wider regional conflict.
President Abbas said that they considered this a cowardly act and a dangerous development in Israeli politics. He said that the Israeli occupation forces are required to abandon their ambitions and halt their aggressive acts against their people and their cause, to comply with global law and implement the Arab Peace Initiative, as well as an immediate and lasting truce and withdrawal from the Strip.
