Concerning the Exacerbation of the Situation in the Palestinian Territories – Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry press release/Non-UN document (excerpts)

Unofficial translation from Russian

PRESS RELEASE

Concerning the Exacerbation of the Situation in the Palestinian Territories

On the night of March 30-31, at Kedumim in the West Bank a Palestinian suicide bomber carried out a terrorist act killing four Israelis. At the same time Israel dealt missile and bomb strikes at northern areas of the Gaza Strip from where mortar shells and rockets were fired at Israeli territory.

Moscow resolutely condemns the anti-Israeli terrorist action and reaffirms its rejection of all terrorist actions regardless of their justification or motives. And we are worried by the overall exacerbation of the situation in Palestinian-Israeli relations, especially at the time when Russia and the other members of the Quartet of international mediators are taking active measures aimed at keeping the situation under control and looking for ways for resuming negotiation contacts between the parties.

In these circumstances special responsibility lies on the Palestinian and Israeli leaderships for ensuring order and preventing violence and terrorist actions. We call upon the parties, showing restraint and composure, to avoid unilateral steps which would prejudge a political settlement through implementing the Roadmap on the well-known international legal basis.

March 31, 2006