MOSCOW: China advocates for Palestine's full membership in the United Nations and calls on several UN Security Council members not to impede the process, reported Sputnik, quoting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday.
"China firmly supports the Palestinian people's just calls of regaining their legitimate rights and is always committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine at an early date. We support Palestine's full membership in the UN and urge certain UN security members not to lay obstacles," Wang told reporters in Beijing during the annual "Two Sessions" meeting of the Asian nation's main political bodies.
China's top diplomat pointed to a long-lasting "occupation" of the Palestinian territories, saying that the global community should not ignore that fact.
Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state in the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognise Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity and builds settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the UN. Palestine was granted non-member observer state status by a 2012 UN General Assembly resolution.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 30,600 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza. -- Bernama