Russian FM says Israel trying to 'blow up' Middle East

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Israel on Saturday of seeking to "blow up" the whole Middle East as criticised Israel's attacks in Iran and Qatar and opposed calls to annex the occupied 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.

France, Britain and several other Western powers recognised a Palestinian state over the past week, voicing exasperation with Israel's relentless war on Gaza.