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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to counterparts from Palestine and Israel and stressed Beijing’s position on a two-state solution to end the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip and years-long conflict in the Middle East.
“What the people of Gaza need most is security, food and medicine rather than war, weapons, and ammunition,” Wang told Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang held separate phone calls with Al-Maliki and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen late yesterday.
Expressing sympathy with people in Gaza, Wang said: “What the Gaza Strip needs most is efforts to end the war and promote peace, not geopolitical calculations.”
Israel has received more than 1,000 tonnes of arms and ammunition, including from the US, since 7 October when it launched an armed attack on Gaza.
Wang said the two-state solution “is the only way to solve the Palestinian issues.”
He reiterated China’s suggestion that a “more authoritative, more wide-ranging and more effective” international peace conference on Palestine be convened as soon as possible to promote the early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel and “formulate a specific timetable and roadmap.”
Acknowledging that all countries “have the right to self-defence,” Wang told Cohen: “But they should respect the international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians.”
“China does not pursue any selfish interests on the Palestinian issue and sincerely hopes that the issue can be comprehensively and fairly resolved on the basis of a two-state solution,” he said.
Wang’s phone call with his Palestinian and Israeli counterparts came while Israeli attacks overnight killed at least 120 Palestinians, including women and children, in various parts of the Gaza Strip.
As Israel’s armed offensive against Gaza entered the 18th day on Tuesday, the death toll in the besieged Palestinian enclave climbed to over 5,200, including over 2,055 children and 1,119 women. More than 15,273 people were also injured in the Israeli attacks.
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