Russia has been increasingly intervening in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly in the wake of the US-Palestinian estrangement since President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017 and transferred the US Embassy there in May. Meanwhile, US-sponsored Palestinian-Israeli negotiations remain stalled since 2014.
Most recently, on Nov. 28, Russian Ambassador to Palestine Haidar Rashid met with Hamas’ political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh in his office in the Gaza Strip and invited him to visit Russia soon. Haniyeh praised Russia's efforts on the Palestinian cause and Rashid further stressed efforts to support it.
During the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome on Nov. 23, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced his country's willingness to mediate to resolve the Palestinian cause and host a Palestinian-Israeli meeting.
On the same day, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki announced that he would be visiting Moscow in December to discuss bilateral relations and stressed Moscow's role in persuading Hamas leaders to end the division during their next visit.
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