Israel-Gaza war: China’s Middle East envoy tells Palestinian official that ceasefire is ‘top priority’
- Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, speaks by phone with Amal Jadou, first deputy minister of Palestinian foreign affairs
- Zhai also expected to call the Israeli side, Israel’s ambassador to China quoted as saying
Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, spoke by phone with Amal Jadou, first deputy minister of Palestinian foreign affairs, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
“The top priority now is an immediate ceasefire and protection of civilians,” Zhai said.
He also called on the international community to work together for a de-escalation of the violence and to provide Palestinians with humanitarian aid.
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Zhai said China was deeply saddened by the war between Israel and Hamas, and the resulting deaths and injuries.
As of Thursday, the attacks by Hamas had killed at least 1,200 people in Israel and wounded more than 2,700, Israeli authorities said. Palestinian officials said 1,100 people had been killed and 5,339 were injured by Israeli strikes on Gaza.
“China will continue to promote a ceasefire to end the violence, help to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, actively encourage peace and promote talks, and play a constructive role in promoting a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine,” Zhai said.
In reiterating China’s position, he said the only way out was to implement a two-state solution, resume peace negotiations, establish an independent state of Palestine and achieve a peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel.
It was Zhai’s second phone call in two days, after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Saturday, indiscriminately killing civilians and taking hostages. On Tuesday, he told Egyptian assistant foreign minister Osama Khedr that Beijing was willing to coordinate with Cairo to push for a ceasefire.
Zhai was also expected to call the Israeli side on Thursday, Bloomberg News reported, citing Israel’s ambassador to China, Irit Ben-Abba.
It would be China’s first public contact with the Israelis since the latest conflict broke out. But the Chinese foreign ministry had yet to release any information about the arrangement by Thursday evening Beijing time.
Ben-Abba also said China should leverage its close relationship with Iran to rein in Hamas, since Tehran was “definitely very much involved in what has happened”, Bloomberg reported.
Earlier this year, Beijing mediated between Iran and Saudi Arabia to have the long-time adversaries re-establish diplomatic ties after a gap of seven years.
On Israel-Palestine issues, China engaged with officials from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as the Arab League and EU over the past year to discuss a two-state solution and recognition for Palestine at the United Nations.
Yan Wei, deputy director of the Institute of Middle Eastern studies at China’s Northwest University, said Beijing still had good elbow room to mediate a ceasefire given its good relations with Israel, Palestinians and Arab nations in the Middle East.
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“Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have voiced their consensus on the Palestine-Israel issue which leaves China with a lot of room for mediation. China can play a very positive role in pushing for at least a de-escalation of the conflict.”
Even though it is the Palestinian Authority that Beijing has official relations with and not Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that Israel has declared war against, China still had some leeway, Yan said.
“Players in the Middle East are connected. Shuttle diplomacy by China has its positive role in at least explaining clearly the stance of the Arab world,” Yan said.
He said it will also be in the interest of Israel not to have a lasting military operation that might lead to humanitarian disaster.
“It would throw away years of diplomatic efforts to reconcile with the Arab countries.”
According to the Chinese foreign ministry readout of the call, Jadou thanked China for its support and said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “very grim”.
“The Palestinian side trusts China and hopes that China will continue to play a constructive role in the current situation,” she was quoted as saying.
Although the state of Palestine has not been accepted as a member by the UN, Beijing recognised the Palestinian Authority government and established diplomatic relations with it in 1988.
Fatah, the authority’s dominant party, lost control of the Gaza Strip to rivals Hamas in 2007, retaining control only of the West Bank.
At his press conference on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin avoided commenting on Beijing’s views regarding Hamas.
He said only that the Palestine issue should be resolved through political means and that the legitimate concerns of all parties should be addressed.
Additional reporting by Zhuang Pinghui
