BEIJING:
Arab and Muslim ministers called on Monday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as their delegation visited Beijing on the first leg of a tour to press for an end to hostilities and allow humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian enclave.
The delegation, which is due to meet officials representing each of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, is also pressing the West to reject Israel’s justification of its actions against the Palestinians as self-defense.
Officials holding meetings with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Monday are from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, among others.
“We are here to send a clear message: that is, we must immediately stop the fighting and the killing, we must immediately deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
The emergency joint Arab Islamic summit in Riyadh this month also urged the International Criminal Court to investigate “war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel” in the Palestinian territories.
Reading Delegation from Palestinian Authority, Muslim nations to visit China
Saudi Arabia has sought to pressure the United States and Israel to end hostilities in Gaza, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has rallied Arab and Muslim leaders to reinforce that message.
Some 240 hostages were taken during Hamas’ deadly cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, which prompted Israel to invade the Gaza Strip in a bid to eliminate the resistance group.
The Hamas-run Gaza government said at least 13,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardment since then, including at least 5,500 children.
Israel’s ambassador to Beijing, Irit Ben-Abba, told foreign reporters at a briefing on Monday that she hoped there would not be “any statements from this visit about a ceasefire, now is not the time.”
He said Israel hopes the delegation will talk about hostages taken by Hamas “and demand their immediate release without conditions,” adding that the parties involved should discuss together Egypt’s “role in facilitating humanitarian aid “.
“Brother and Friend”
China’s Wang said Beijing is a “good friend and brother of Arab and Muslim countries,” adding that it has “always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests.”
Since the start of hostilities, China’s foreign ministry has repeatedly stopped short of condemning Hamas, instead calling for a de-escalation and for Israel and Palestine to pursue a “two-state solution” for an independent Palestine.
read more Israel expands Gaza operation as Palestinian death toll tops 13,000
Since the end of China’s nearly three-year lockdown, Xi has launched a diplomatic push aimed at confronting the United States and its allies, who he says seek to contain and suppress his country.
Beijing has deepened alliances with non-Western-led multilateral groups such as the BRICS bloc of nations, while strengthening ties with countries in the Middle East and Global South.
On Monday, Wang added that China will work to “quench the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible, ease the humanitarian crisis and promote an early, comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue.”
China’s special envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, has recruited officials from Israel and the Palestinian Authority – which rules the occupied West Bank – as well as the Arab League and the EU over the past year to discuss a two-state solution and recognition for Palestine at the United Nations.
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