China and Arab League pledge mutual support, rejecting ‘interference’

Name: ‘We lost everything’: Gazans pick up pieces after conflict between Israel and Hamas ends
Uploaded: 2021-07-19T10:14:21.000Z
Duration: 3 min 25 s
Description: ‘We lost everything’: Gazans pick up pieces after conflict between Israel and Hamas ends

Joint statement opposes external interference in Arab countries but says Arab League welcomes China to help resolve regional disputes

The two sides agree to push for international talks based on a two-state Palestinian solution

Reading Time:3 minutes

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China urged Israeli-Palestinian talks based on the two-state solution, after the latest escalation in rocket attacks and air strikes between the two. Photo: EPA-EFE

Laura Zhou

Published: 6:14pm, 19 Jul 2021Updated: 11:33pm, 19 Jul 2021

China opposes external interference in Arab countries and fully supports the sovereignty of countries facing serious conflict in the region, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a joint statement with the Arab League.

The statement was released after a Sunday meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary general of the Arab League, during which the two sides also agreed to push for international talks based on a two-state solution that would include the early establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

“The establishment of an independent Palestinian state should not be delayed indefinitely and the legitimate rights of the Arab people should not be ignored for too long,” Wang said, adding that China was willing to host the two sides for direct talks, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Wang called for talks between Israeli and Palestinian authorities based on the two-state solution, which he described as “the sole practical solution” to one of the world’s most enduring conflicts.

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‘We lost everything’: Gazans pick up pieces after conflict between Israel and Hamas ends

Wang said efforts should be made to strengthen the authority of the Palestinian National Authority, the Fatah-controlled, interim self-government body that exercises partial civil control over the Gaza Strip and West Bank areas. He urged political talks within Palestine to establish a unified position in its talks with Israel.

Wang was in the Egyptian city of El Alamein, the second stop of his four-day visit to the Middle East. This was his second trip to the region this year, and earlier on Sunday he met his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri, during which the two sides agreed to send Palestinian authorities 500,000 Covid-19 jabs from Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac’s production line in Egypt, which opened last month and had manufactured 1 million doses as of July 5.

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