Ismail Haniyeh emphasized the necessity of quickly stopping the Israeli aggression in Gaza, the withdrawal of the occupation army, the return of the displaced Palestinians.
A Chinese foreign ministry envoy met with Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas, Beijing’s foreign ministry confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
In the brief statement, the Chinese ministry said that Chinese Ambassador Wang Kejian met Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday, and that the two “exchanged views on the Gaza conflict and other issues”.
According to a statement released by Hamas, Haniyeh “emphasized the necessity of quickly stopping the (Israeli) aggression and massacres (in Gaza), the withdrawal of the occupation army, the return of the displaced, providing shelter and (the) reconstruction (of the Strip).”
Haniyeh also reportedly “praised the role that China plays in the Security Council, the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and in sending humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”
China will maintain relations with Hamas
Hamas is "part of the Palestinian national structure" and China is interested in relations with it, Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Kejian said yesterday as part of a meeting between Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and… pic.twitter.com/A9mSjkcZCS
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 19, 2024
For his part, Beijing’s envoy “affirmed the close and historical relationship between the Palestinian and Chinese peoples and China’s firm positions towards the Palestinian cause and its support for the just demands of the Palestinian people for freedom, independence, and the establishment of a state.”
Wang Kejian also “emphasized the necessity of stopping this war and ending the killing that the Palestinians are subjected to and providing for their humanitarian needs.”
This is reportedly the first such meeting between Hamas and China since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza, following the military operation carried out on October 7 by Hamas and other Palestinian Resistance groups in southern Israel.
Right to Armed Struggle
Unlike Washington, which gave total backing to Israel to continue with its war on Gaza, thus refusing international calls for ceasefire, the Chinese position called for the respect of international law.
Beijing’s position went further by openly supporting the Palestinian people’s right to the use of armed struggle to achieve national liberation.
Addressing the International Court of Justice on February 22, the Chinese representative said the Palestinians’ use of armed struggle to gain independence from foreign and colonial rule is “legitimate” and “well-founded” in international law.
Palestinians have Right to Armed Struggle – Chinese Envoy to ICJ (VIDEO)
“In pursuit of the right to self-determination, Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of an independent state is (an) inalienable right well founded in international law,” Ma Xinmin told the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Citing resolutions by the UN General Assembly, Beijing’s envoy to the top world court said that people struggling for self-determination could use “all available means, including armed struggle.”
“The struggle waged by peoples for their liberation, right to self-determination, including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression, domination against foreign forces should not be considered terror acts,” Ma stated in his address to the ICJ, citing international conventions.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 31,819 Palestinians have been killed, and 73,934 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
‘Bloody Massacre’ – 50 Palestinians Executed, 180 Detained by Israel at Al-Shifa Hospital
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(The Palestine Chronicle)
