MOSCOW, January 24 The Holocaust is losing its significance in the eyes of hundreds of millions of people, when it is exploited for political purposes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on air.
On Sputnik radio, Zakharova noted that Israeli UN representatives often make references to the topic of the Holocaust in the context of the Palestinian conflict.
“»The worst thing, in my opinion, is that in this way the topic of the Holocaust… for so many people — for millions, for hundreds of millions — it ceases to be sacred, it ceases to be sacred, it ceases, in principle, to be a historical topic. It is becoming an exclusively political situation,” Zakharova said.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Israelis should not be given a feeling of permissiveness because of the Holocaust.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped.
At the end of October 2023, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
The number of victims of Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip since October 7 has exceeded 25 thousand, more than 63 thousand people were injured.
Hamas claimed that there were about 200-250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. After the end of the truce, Israeli authorities announced that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostage with Hamas, and 110 abducted were released.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.