US and Its Biased Policies to Blame for the Gaza War: Russia

On Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) continued its hearings on "The Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem."

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Russia accused the United States of maintaining a "short-sighted and irresponsible" approach that has diluted political processes to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

"The current wave of violence is not an exception and was preceded by a persistent policy of the United States and its allies aimed at freezing the status quo, diluting political processes, and promoting unilateral vision," Russian ambassador to The Hague Vladimir Tarabrin said.

"Washington's erratic policy has predictably led to failure that has cost thousands of innocent lives," he stressed, adding that the international community now faces the difficult task of creating conditions to break the current impasse and resume dialogue after the war.

Tarabrin recalled that the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict shows "what happens when the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council are ignored and influential global actors are unable or unwilling to help the parties find consensus solutions."

"The security of both Israelis and Palestinians can only be ensured if the root cause of the current crisis is addressed. Outbursts of violence will inevitably occur until the Palestinian people, who have suffered decades of injustice, exercise their right to establish an independent state," he warned.

"The images from Gaza are terrifying as violence has reached an unprecedented and catastrophic scale," the Russian ambassador said, adding that the October events cannot justify "the collective punishment" of over 2 million Gazans.

"We cannot accept the logic of those officials in Israel and some Western countries who try to justify indiscriminate violence against civilians by referring to Israel's duty to protect its nationals. Violence only leads to more violence, hate only breeds more hate. This vicious cycle must be broken," Tarabrin said.

The ICJ hearings are the consequence of a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2022. Once they conclude, the Hague Court will issue a non-binding opinion.