"Russia believes that any decision or action of this sort destroys the basic principles of the peace process," Ivanov

CAIRO, July 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov hit out Thursday, July 17, at Israeli MPs' adoption of a draft legislation denying the occupation of the Palestinian territories, saying it undermined the Middle East peace roadmap.

"Russia believes that any decision or action of this sort destroys the basic principles of the peace process, and it is not in harmony with the political process," he told reporters after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"We hope that people will refrain from adopting such resolutions," said Ivanov.

"The peace process must have the sound and peaceful foundations represented by international agreements, the (1991) Madrid conference, U.N. resolutions and the Arab initiative adopted at the (2002) Beirut summit," he said, referring to the principle of exchanging land for peace.

‘Not Occupied’

The Israeli parliament on Tuesday, July 15, adopted a resolution reiterating the Jewish state's longstanding denial that the West Bank and Gaza Strip were occupied territories.

"The territories of Judea, Samaria (southern and northern West Bank) and Gaza are not occupied territories, neither from a historical standpoint, nor from the perspective of international law nor the political agreements that Israel has signed," the resolution said.

The 120-seat parliament passed the resolution by 26 votes to eight, with hawks in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party taking advantage of the premier's absence in Europe to make their point, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

The resolution is in line with the position of all previous Israeli governments and has no binding value.

The bill outlined to the Israeli government red lines that must not be crossed in any future peace negotiations including full Israeli sovereignty over the holy city of occupied Jerusalem and absolute opposition to the return of Palestinian refugees into their homes inside Israel.

As many as four million Palestinian refugees, most of whom live in surrounding Arab countries since being expelled in 1984 Israeli-Arab war, hope to return to their homeland.

Another Stumbling Block

The Palestinian Authority condemned the Knesset move as another stumbling block to the settlement of the decades-old conflict.

But the adoption came just a few weeks after the normally hawkish premier angered many in his own party by using the term "occupation" to refer to Israel's presence in the Palestinian territories.

I think that the idea of keeping 3.5 million Palestinians under occupation is the worst thing for Israel, for the Palestinians and also for the Israeli economy," Sharon said in statements carried by the Israeli Maariv newspaper on May 25.

Sharon backtracked the next day after his legal advisor, Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein, told him the West Bank and Gaza Strip should be referred to as "disputed territories".

Russia is one of the four co-sponsors of the peace roadmap launched at the Jordanian resort of Aqaba on June 4, along with the European Union, United Nations and United States.