My Take | China gains diplomatically from Gaza conflict
- Despite its professed non-interference policy, Beijing wants to be involved this time in Palestine as the escalating conflict exposes two-faced America finger-wagging over the Uygurs in Xinjiang while letting Israel go on a rampage against the Palestinian civilian population
In the past, China had been more than happy to ignore Israel’s dirty war on the Palestinians. It didn’t have a dog in the fight. The conflict is basically intractable; a two-state settlement? Dream on, deluded Western liberals!
And ignoring it fits perfectly with China’s diplomatic doctrine of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. It’s more than willing to do business with both Jews and Arabs. As far as Beijing is concerned, everyone should do their own dirty laundry quietly and shut up about other people’s.
But that won’t do anymore; call it the burden of becoming a superpower. Every superpower, past or present, eventually got sucked into the quagmire of the Middle East, whether it was imperial Britain, Soviet Russia or the United States.
In the latest escalating violence, close to 200 Palestinians have been killed, about half of them women and children. Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children. The conflict broke out more than a week ago as China took over the chair of the United Nations Security Council by rotation. Given its new UN responsibilities, Beijing, as represented by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, had to convene with other UN council members to try to mediate, de-escalate or call for a ceasefire, however fruitlessly, in Palestine.
04:48
China offers to mediate Gaza conflict amid international protests against Israel
And true to form, Israel’s biggest backer, the US, has blocked any UN Security Council resolution, or even a joint statement. Israel must be given a free hand to bomb Gaza to smithereens; Washington will always be on hand to give it diplomatic cover.
Incidentally, the bombing has even targeted the building that housed international media, and another that was being used by the Qatari Red Crescent Society, the Arabic equivalent of the Red Cross. Given the sophistication of Israel’s weaponry and on-the-ground intelligence, you can be sure those weren’t accidents.