China urges Israel to stop ‘provocations’ and ‘encroachment’ as Palestinian tensions flare
- Chinese envoy to the UN issues strong rebuke of illegal West Bank settlements and right-wing Israeli official’s visit to Jerusalem holy site
- Beijing is stepping up mediator role in Middle East conflicts, having helped broker a peace deal for Saudi Arabia and Iran earlier this year
China’s Middle East envoy vows to work with UN amid violence in West Bank
“Upholding the historical status quo of religious holy sites, ceasing expansion of settlements, and respecting international humanitarian law are the fundamental requirements for preventing the repeated escalations of tensions between Palestine and Israel,” he said.
“The parties concerned are duty-bound to implement them and should not use them as bargaining chips. The international community has the responsibility to ensure their implementation and should not be indifferent.”
“China will continue to firmly support the Palestinian people and their just cause to restore their legitimate national rights,” he added.
He also appeared to take aim at the United States for blocking a China-led UN Security Council statement condemning conflicts in the Gaza Strip between Israeli forces and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in early May.
“The country with major influence on the parties concerned should make concrete efforts to advance the Middle East peace process and should not unjustifiably prevent the Security Council from arriving at the minimum consensus on the Palestine-Israeli issue,” he said.
Several people were reportedly injured in a clash on Wednesday between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the northern West Bank outpost of Homesh, according to the Times of Israel, as tensions continued to escalate.
What Saudi SCO decision means for China’s influence in Middle East
Observers remain cautious about the offer, which had been made previously but failed to yield much progress.
China has proposed initiatives to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict, including a four-point plan proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, when he hosted Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in separate meetings in Beijing.
Xi’s plan called for a two-state solution, ceasing of settlement activities in occupied territories, coordination of international efforts to resolve the conflict and attention to Palestine’s development.
Since 2013, a few Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been held under Xi’s plan, but they have failed to yield substantial results.
China has provided consistent diplomatic and humanitarian support to Palestine while also maintaining close trade ties with Israel.