Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has expressed concern over the escalation of Palestine and Israel's armed conflict and urged the two parties to end the violence immediately to avoid more casualties.

In comprehensively ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Indonesia highlighted the importance of solving the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said.

The Israeli occupation, which is definitely the root cause of the prolonged conflict, must be resolved in accordance with parameters to which the United Nations has agreed, the ministry said here on Sunday.

According to WAFA News Agency, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates also underlined the importance of ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories for peace.

"Ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is the only guarantee for peace, security, and stability in the region," said the ministry, as quoted by WAFA News Agency on Saturday.

The new armed conflict erupted again following the Hamas surprise attack on Israel on Saturday morning. Prior to the Palestinian liberation fighters' assaults, Israel continued its closure of Gaza crossings.

The WAFA news agency reported on September 25 that the Israeli closure of the Gaza crossings had worsened the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.

According to WAFA News Agency, the Palestinians had already suffered from the severe impacts of "more than 17 years of tight Israeli land, sea, and air blockades.".

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that the Israeli air strikes on Gaza had killed at least 232 Palestinians, while the Hamas assault had claimed the lives of at least 250 Israelis.

Al Jazeera quoted Hamas, which runs Gaza, as saying its assault on Israel was "a response to the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence".

In response to the unprecended surprise attack, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared war on Hamas and, according to Al Jazeera, pledged that the Israeli forces would "turn all Hamas hideouts into rubble".

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Translator: Asri MS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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