Russian Foreign Ministry

The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed the Israeli occupation's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid over the suspension of Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

In a statement published on its website, Russia's Foreign Ministry said "We have taken note of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s aggressive statement, made on April 7 in the context of his country’s support for the UN General Assembly’s resolution on the suspension of Russia’s membership from the UN Human Rights Council."

"Israel" continues illegal occupation & annexation of Palestinian land

The ministry considered that Lapid's "statements evoke regret and rejection," underscoring that "The Israeli government continues the illegal occupation and ‘creeping annexation’ of Palestinian territories, as a result of which over 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank of the Jordan River today live in scattered enclaves cut off from the outside world."

Gaza has become an "open-air prison"

The Russian statement read that "The Gaza Strip has essentially become an 'open-air prison', whose two million people have been forced to survive for almost 14 years under the conditions of the sea, air and land blockade imposed by 'Israel'."

"There was a poorly camouflaged attempt to take advantage of the situation in Ukraine to distract the international community’s attention from one of the oldest unsettled conflicts - the Palestinian-Israeli one," the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.

"Israel" does not see objection to vote against Russia

Lapid had accused the Russian forces of committing "war crimes against a defenseless civilian population. I strongly condemn these war crimes.”

A source in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign commented on the strongly worded Russian statement.

The Israeli source said Russia usually votes against "Israel" at the UN; therefore, "Israel" does not see any objection to its vote against Russia.

"Exceptional" statement

For its part, the Israeli website Makan described the Russian statement as "exceptional".

The Russian Foreign Ministry statement came 10 days after "Israel" voted in favor of excluding Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.