Thea Fathanah Arbar, CNBC Indonesia
Monday, 16/10/2023 13:05 WIB
Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping (AFP/PHILL MAGAKOE)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – China is known to have provided support to the Palestinian people. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing supports “the Palestinian people’s justice in safeguarding their national rights.”
“The root cause… of the Palestinian-Israeli situation is that the Palestinian people’s right to statehood has been set aside for a long time,” Wang said in a telephone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday, according to an official Chinese report, quoted AFP Monday (16/10/2023).
“This historic injustice must end as soon as possible,” Wang said again. “China will continue to stand for peace and support the struggle of the Palestinian people in safeguarding their national rights.”
China, which has close ties with Iran, is increasingly positioning itself as a mediator in the Middle East. But Beijing has been criticized by Western officials for not specifically mentioning Hamas by name in its condemnation of violence in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Wang said in a phone call on Sunday with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan that Israel’s actions were now “beyond self-defense.” He said the Israeli government must “stop the collective punishment of the people of Gaza”.
“(Israel) must listen seriously to the calls of the international community and the UN Secretary General, and stop the collective punishment of the Gaza people,” Wang added.
Wang told Prince Faisal that all parties should not take any action to worsen the situation. He emphasized that everyone involved must return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
On Saturday, Wang held a telephone call with United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The US itself has asked China to use its influence in the Middle East to encourage calm in the region.
Wang urged holding an international peace meeting as soon as possible to promote broad consensus.
Israeli forces have carried out thousands of air strikes on the Gaza Strip in recent days. Casualties continue to increase from the Palestinian side.
From the latest data from the Ministry of Health, since October 7, 2,670 Palestinians have died due to air strikes and bombardments carried out by Israel. Al-Jazeera said most of the victims were children and women in Gaza, with 9,600 people also injured.
On the Israeli side, the death toll reached 1,300 people, of which more than 3,400 people were injured. In this way, if combined, the total death toll from both sides has now reached almost 4,000 people, to be precise, 3,970 people.
Gaza itself is a narrow strip of land sandwiched between Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. This area has been shelled by Israeli troops in response to Hamas attacks last weekend.
More than a million people in the densely populated northern part of the Gaza enclave have been ordered to evacuate by Israel ahead of an expected major ground offensive. However, Hamas asked residents remaining in Gaza to defend their land.
Watch the video below:
Video: Israel Strikes Gaza With 6,000 Bombs
(sef/sef)
2023-10-16 06:05:00
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