China called on Monday for urgent and decisive actions to prevent the Palestinian question from being totally derailed, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
“It has been proven time and again that the question of Palestine is the crux of the peace in the Middle East. Piecemeal crisis management cannot substitute for a comprehensive and just settlement,” China’s permanent ambassador Zhang Jun told a UN Security Council briefing on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question.
Remarks by Ambassador Zhang Jun at the UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Questionhttps://t.co/aLLyGignlF pic.twitter.com/DD6LbyozKA
— Chinese Mission to UN (@Chinamission2un) June 27, 2022
“Limited economic and humanitarian measures cannot erase political and security deficit. And individual national policies cannot replace long established international consensus and multilateral process, including resolutions adopted by this Council and the General Assembly one after another,” he continued, adding:
“ What is needed for the time being is urgent and decisive actions, so as to prevent the train of Palestinian-Israeli situation from totally falling off the track.”
Zhang voiced his country’s deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.
He went on to denounce the expansion of Jewish, the pillage of natural resources, and the encroachment upon Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and falls under full Israeli military rule.
“Under the Israeli occupation, Palestine’s viability has been squeezed to the limit. We have noted with great concern that approximately 18% of Area C in the West Bank has been designated by Israel as closed military zone for training, and some 50% has been designated for other purposes, effectively closing it off for Palestinian construction, economic activity and development.”
“What is more concerning is that the continued expansion of settlements has encroached upon Palestinian land and natural resources, undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and made a geographically contiguous, independent and sovereign State of Palestine ever more elusive to achieve. Every brutal inch of expansion of settlement is making the prospect of a two-state solution much harder to achieve,” Zhang added.
He urged Israel to stop its contempt for Resolution 2334, stop all colonial settlement activities, and halt further undermining the foundation for the two-state solution.
Palestine is a litmus test – as is Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, China and every other country on the planet. Not a litmus test for “good leftist politics” but a litmus test for understanding the need for international solidarity among people.
— … (@tempehlover) June 22, 2022
Noting that recently the security situation in the occupied territory has continued to be volatile, Zhang said that his country strongly condemns the continued violence by Israeli forces and the settlers, which has resulted in heavy Palestinian casualties, including children.
He urged Israel to launch as soon as possible a criminal investigation into the killing of iconic Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and release its findings in order to ensure accountability.
“The question of Palestine is a litmus test of the international justice and fairness,” Zhang said while pointing out that “the question of Palestine has been without a solution for over 70 years, and that international justice has been denied for over 70 years.”
He underlined the fact that adopting a crisis management approach to the Palestinian question is not a substitute for a just solution.
A new report has revealed that Israel’s construction of illegal settlements on Palestinian land increased by 62 percent under the government led by far-right Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, since it came to power in June 2021.https://t.co/39sVEQbCD8 pic.twitter.com/t6qNLIqbzP
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 28, 2022
He recalled that in their declaration released following the 14th BRICS Summit, convened on June 23 to 24, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Middle East and North Africa, called upon the international community to support efforts aimed at the stability and peace in the region.
As a responsible member of the international community, China will be always on the side of peace and justice, on the side of human conscience and fairness, and on the right side of history, he said.
“We will firmly support the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, and will continue to make unremitting efforts for achieving comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East,” Zhang concluded.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
Am I alone in finding this expression of China’s views on Palestine utterly hypocritical?
We all know that the China regime has been – and is – carrying out extreme human rights violations where the Uighur and Tibetan peoples are concerned.
His regime is also currently fully supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine.
He should be told “Those who live in glass houses should not be throwing stones”!
Mr. Jun may very well realize the hypocrisy of China’s official stance on Palestine, given China’s horrible human rights record at home. But he is free to criticize Israel, while he would be censored or worse for criticizing China. It might be a “one and done” gesture. Better to live to fight another day in another way.