Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas claims that the continuation of the war in Gaza is the main purpose of the killing of his political opponent, Ismail Haniyeh.

The Hamas leader lived in exile in Qatar but was killed by a missile while visiting Tehran, putting enormous pressure on Iran to retaliate and expand Israel's war with Hamas and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. .

As the top political leader of Hamas, Haniyeh played a key role in the expected negotiations to end the Israeli military operation and the future of Gaza. Without it, all mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar and other peace initiatives to free Israelis captured by Hamas, to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza and to end the conflict in general are destroyed.

Abbas, who is president of the Palestinian Authority but whose Fatah party virtually controls only the West Bank, called Haniyeh's killing a "cowardly act" and a "dangerous development in Israeli politics."

- There is no doubt that the purpose of the assassination of Mr. Haniyeh is to continue and expand the war. It will have negative consequences on the negotiations to stop the aggression and withdraw the Israeli troops from Gaza - Abbas told the Russian agency RIA Novosti, opposite his visit to Moscow at the beginning of next week.

The future of Gaza

The visit from August 12 to 14 is interpreted as an attempt to involve Russia more actively in peace efforts, especially for the establishment of authority in the Palestinian territories when Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the military operation will not stop until Hamas is destroyed, and insists that long after that, possibly for years, Israeli formations should remain deployed in positions in Gaza to ensure that the Palestinian strip no longer represents danger to Israeli citizens.

The international community, regional countries, and especially the United States as Israel's main ally, are against the idea of ​​a new occupation. They agree that Hamas will hand over power and a transitional government will be formed, under strict international control and auspices, until new elections are held. Abbas wants his administration to take control of Gaza, at least temporarily. The Abbas and Haniyeh movements went to war 17 years ago after Fatah refused to accept the results of an election won by Hamas. Nearly 500 gunmen and civilians have died in the war, and Hamas has taken full control of Gaza.

– The Gaza Strip must be transferred under the control of the legitimate Palestinian authorities. Gaza must be governed under the auspices of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the legitimate Palestinian government. We are strongly opposed to the Israeli plans that envisage some temporary solutions - the Palestinian president told the Russian agency.

Coordinating with the Kremlin

Abbas announced that he will discuss the peace process in the region and "coordinating positions" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

- The main purpose of our visit will be consultation and exchange of views on the latest events in the Palestinian and international arena, coordinating the position and strengthening bilateral relations in all spheres - Abbas told RIA news.

Moscow is restrained in its attempts to mediate the end of the war in Gaza and is firmly of the opinion that peace is possible only on the basis of the internationally accepted principle of "two states". But Russia has a lot of influence on the authorities in Tehran, who said they were "obliged to take revenge" for Haniyeh's killing while Iran extended hospitality to him.

Sergei Shoigu, the former Minister of Defense and now Chairman of the National Security Council, yesterday in Tehran spoke with the newly elected Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, who expressed his determination to "expand ties with the strategic partner" Russia.

Fearing retaliatory attacks by Iran or the Hezbollah movement against Israel, many countries urged their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.

No one benefits from war

Washington, on the other hand, directly and through all other countries with diplomatic channels to Tehran, call on the Iranian leadership to refrain from retaliation, because "the expansion of the war is not in the interest of the Islamic Republic." State Secretary Anthony Blinken assessed that these days are a "critical moment for the region". He added that the State Department, through diplomats, is trying around the clock to calm tensions.

– All parties must refrain from escalation. All parties must take steps to defuse tensions. Escalation is not in anyone's interest. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity - said Blinken after a meeting with his Australian counterpart in Washington.

On Monday, the Secretary of State spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati, who are the main regional mediators in the peace process.

The White House announced that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is a candidate to succeed him, have been thoroughly briefed on the situation in the Middle East, especially on threats from Iran and pro-Iranian movements against Israel and against American soldiers and civilians. They were also briefed yesterday on Monday's attack on US troops at the Asad Air Base in Iraq to determine what the US response should be.

An anonymous official familiar with the briefing told Reuters that national security advisers told Biden and Harris that "it is still unclear when Iran and Hezbollah would begin retaliatory actions against Israel and what the attack would be."