By Le Shui
China and Arab states held in-depth discussions about the Palestinian issue during the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) and released the China-Arab states joint statement on the Palestinian issue (hereinafter referred to as the Statement) on May 30. The Statement elaborated on the 21 points agreed upon by the two sides and reiterated China's just position on the issue.
As of the end of May, the new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had lasted more than seven months, leaving 125,000 civilians in the Gaza Strip dead or wounded, including the death of over 14,000 children. In the meantime, the international community's humanitarian aid to Gaza has been frequently disrupted by Israel's military operations. A UN official recently warned that the humanitarian actions in Gaza were on the verge of a total breakdown because of Israel's constant military actions.
The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has caused great concern in the international community. Ever since the new round of conflict broke out last October, China has been calling for an immediate ceasefire and upheld the "two-state solution" as the fundamental way out of the dilemma. China's position and voice on the Palestinian issue reflect the international consensus. On April 18 this year, the UN Security Council draft resolution on the admission of Palestine as a full UN member state received 12 votes in favor but was vetoed by the US. On May 10, the UNGA adopted at its 10th emergency special session a resolution with 143 votes in favor and a few against including the US and Israel, which determined that the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the UN in accordance with the UN Charter. On May 28, three European countries, Spain, Ireland, and Norway, announced their official recognition of the State of Palestine, increasing the total number of countries recognizing the state to almost 150. All these indicate that implementing the "two-state solution" is supported and welcomed by the international community as a just way forward.
Even though most of the world feels extremely sympathetic for what the Palestinians are going through, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still spiraling up and Israel has never for a moment slowed down its steps of attacking Rafah. Israeli government's tough stance is of course the immediate cause, but the US 'behind-the-scene support and connivance is also to blame. While almost all the world is condemning Israel's military actions, the US is voting, over and over, against the ceasefire and the admission of Palestine into the UN. It also shipped huge amounts of armaments to Israel, pouring fuel on the flames of the conflict. Following the US House's approval of a USD 14.3 billion aid package for Israel last November, anotherUSD26 billion military aid bill for Israel was passed last month.
On May 26, Israel's airstrike on the Rafah refugee camp killed 45 civilians, a move strongly condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Yet the White House went against the international community by claiming Israel didn't cross the "red line", which was tantamount to giving the green light to Israel's larger-scale military actions against civilians in the future.
Objectively speaking, as a world power, the US has played an infamous role in the Palestine-Israel issue, and is culpable for the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On the contrary, China has always stood on the side of peace, fairness, and justice, opposing violent attacks on civilians and civil facilities in any form. As the Statement was released, China announced its decision to offer another RMB500 million, following the previous RMB100 million in emergency humanitarian aid, to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support its post-war reconstruction.
As President Xi said at the opening ceremony of the conference, "War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever. Commitment to the two-State solution should not be wavered at will." Pushing for a ceasefire and deescalating the situation is the common wish of the majority of countries and the moral obligation of the international community. China will continue to stand with Arab States and make its contributions to finding a comprehensive, just and sustained solution to the Palestinian issue at an early date.
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
