Israel says China’s support for Palestinian ‘right to self-defence’ may be seen as support for October 7 attack
- China told Hague court Palestinians have a right to self-determination ‘by all available means, including armed struggle’ – to the dissatisfaction of Israelis
- ‘China should ask itself why the Hamas terrorist organisation was so quick to praise the words of the Chinese legal adviser’: Israeli spokesman
The Israeli government responded on Monday to China’s comments at an International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
At the hearing, China’s representative Ma Xinmin cited the United Nations Charter and previous UN resolutions in a statement in support of the Palestinian right to self-determination, saying that “numerous [UN General Assembly] resolutions recognise the legitimacy of struggling by all available means, including armed struggle”.
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“The Palestinian-Israeli conflict stems from Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestinian territory and Israel’s long-standing oppression of the Palestinian people,” Ma said.
“The Palestinian people fight against Israeli oppression, and their struggle for completing the establishment of an independent State on the occupied territories are, essentially, just actions for restoring their legitimate rights. The right to self-determination serves as the precise legal foundation for their struggle.”
Ma said struggles for self-determination “should not be considered terror acts,” but that during armed struggle “all parties are obliged to comply with international humanitarian law and, in particular, to refrain from committing acts of terrorism in violation of international humanitarian law”.
Hamas on Friday responded to China’s statement in a Telegram channel. According to The Jerusalem Post it said: “We also appreciate the position expressed by the People’s Republic of China, and its emphasis on the legality of the occupied peoples’ pursuit of self-determination, by various means, including armed resistance, and the necessity not to confuse terrorism with the armed struggle practised by the Palestinian people against the Zionist occupation.”
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On Monday, Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman Lior Haiat condemned China’s statement, saying it “could be interpreted as support for the murderous terrorist attack committed by Hamas on October 7”.
“The laws of war do not permit the systematic and deliberate attack of civilians or the use of civilians as human shields, two war crimes that Hamas commits in the name of ‘armed struggle’,” Haiat said.
“China should ask itself why the Hamas terrorist organisation was so quick to praise the words of the Chinese legal adviser at the ICJ.”
The October 7 attack killed about 1,200 Israelis, many of them civilians, while Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza has killed more than 29,000 people, including more than 12,000 children.
Since the beginning of Israel’s current war against Hamas in Gaza, China has called on “all parties” to end the fighting and advocated for negotiations towards a two-state solution to resume. China has not specifically named Hamas in its statements or labelled its actions terrorism, in contrast to many Western countries.
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Although China has repeatedly expressed a desire to play a direct role in realising peace in Israel and Palestine, it has been passive on issues such as the Houthi strikes on ships in the Red Sea as it attempts to grow its influence in the Middle East.
Hongda Fan, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute at Shanghai International Studies University, said China’s recent International Court of Justice statements did not represent a change in its stance on the conflict, but did reveal an escalation in its support and concern for Palestinians.
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“Since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992, China has always emphasised the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through political means, and indeed rarely emphasised the Palestinian people’s right to use force to resist Israel,” Fan said.
“Although China’s statement complies with international law, it does further highlight China’s position on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to a certain extent.”
