Israel must heed the “overwhelming consensus” of the international community and immediately cease military operations in Gaza and stop the collective punishment of the people in Gaza, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations said on June 25.
Speaking at a briefing of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, Fu Cong expressed regret that there had not been any tangible signs from Israel of its agreement to a lasting cease-fire despite a claim by the United States that Tel Aviv had agreed to a US-sponsored resolution.
Fu noted that both the General Assembly Emergency Special Sessions and the Security Council had adopted multiple resolutions calling for an immediate and lasting cease-fire, the release of all hostages, and the removal of obstacles to humanitarian access, among others.
On May 31, the US pushed for the adoption of Resolution 2735 by the Council, urging both Israel and Hamas, or the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, to accept the proposal, and said Israel had agreed to it.
“On the contrary, we have witnessed its continued large-scale military operations and repeated attacks on refugee camps in Rafah, Nuseirat, and Gaza City, resulting in new and major casualties, and putting UNRWA, ICRC, and other humanitarian agencies in danger,” Fu said, referring to the UN Palestinian refugee agency and the International Committee of the Red Cross respectively.
Calling for an immediate cease-fire, he added that “once that is achieved, there should be no resumption of the war”.
Without naming any state, Fu said, “We call on the country with important influence to work sincerely in an impartial and responsible manner to push for the cessation of hostilities.”
The envoy noted that Gaza is in the grip of a dire humanitarian situation.
“Under the international humanitarian law, Israel has an obligation to protect the safety of humanitarian agencies and their staff and to ensure the rapid entry of sufficient humanitarian relief into Gaza and their safe and orderly delivery to all people in need,” he said.
Turning to the situation in the West Bank, Fu reiterated China’s view that Israeli settlement activities in the area “are in violation of international law” and will “erode the prospect for a two-State solution”.
In the West Bank, searches, arrests, and raids by Israeli enforcement agencies against Palestinians are daily occurrences, he said.
“We call on Israel to effectively curb violence against the Palestinian civilians and stop undermining the basis of governance for the Palestinian Authority, including by expeditiously returning the withheld tax revenues.”
In his speech, Fu also expressed concern over the regional repercussions of the Gaza conflict, as can be seen in the “worrisome tension in the Red Sea and along the Lebanon-Israel border”.
“China is gravely concerned about reports regarding Israel’s plan of military offensives in Lebanon. As Secretary-General Guterres cautioned last Friday (June 21), the situation in the Middle East is very precarious and the people of the region and the people of the world can’t afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” he said.
To avoid plunging “the entire Middle East region into an even greater catastrophe”, China “calls on all parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that could escalate tensions”, Fu added.
