AFP, United Nations

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday accused Israel of seeking to “blow up” the whole Middle East as he criticised Israel’s attacks in Iran and Qatar and opposed calls to annex the West Bank.

“Israel’s illegal use of force against the Palestinians and aggressive actions against Iran, Qatar, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq today threaten to blow up the entire Middle East,” Lavrov said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

Lavrov lashed out at calls by hard-right allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank as a way to kill prospects for an independent Palestinian state.

“There is no justification for plans to annex the West Bank. We are essentially dealing with an attempt at a kind of coup d’etat aimed at burying UN decisions on the creation of a Palestinian state,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov also mocked the Western recognition of a Palestinian state, saying, “What took them so long?”

By waiting until the General Assembly, they may have expected there would be “nothing and no one left to recognise” as Israel pursues its offensive, Lavrov said.