Chinese envoy: U.S. abusing its veto power on Palestinian question

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Wednesday said the United States was abusing its veto power on the Palestine-Israel issue.

He made the remarks while addressing the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on the use of the veto on the situation in the Middle East.

Fu expressed China's disappointment over a U.S. decision on April 18 to veto a draft resolution that recommended that the General Assembly should hold a vote to allow Palestine full UN membership.

"An independent State of Palestine has been a long-cherished dream for generations of Palestinians and formal membership in the United Nations is a crucial step in this historic process," Fu noted, adding the U.S. has "mercilessly shattered the decades-old dream of the Palestinian people with its veto."

Fu recalled that Palestine formally applied for full UN membership as early as 2011, and the Security Council's action at that time was put on hold because of the opposition of individual states.

In the intervening 13 years, the political prospects of the two-state solution have continued to erode and the suffering of the Palestinian people has increased, Fu pointed out, adding "under such circumstances, the international community has an urgent responsibility to accept Palestine as a full member of the UN, to give Palestine equal status with Israel and to provide international guarantees for the realization of the two-state solution."

He noted that the U.S. has used its veto power dozens of times and since the outbreak of the current round of the Gaza conflict, the U.S. has exercised its veto five times, four of which have blocked calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, and next to exclusively blocked Palestine's formal membership in the United Nations.

Fu said the U.S. repeatedly abused the veto based on its own interests and geopolitical calculations.

The Chinese envoy voiced hope that the United States will join the international community in playing a constructive role in ending the fighting in Gaza and alleviating the humanitarian disaster.

Noting the fighting in Gaza continues and the humanitarian disaster is unprecedented, Fu called on Israel to immediately cease all military operations, abandon its plan of attack on Rafah, immediately open all land crossings, guarantee rapid, safe and large-scale access for humanitarian supplies, and facilitate the transportation and distribution of supplies by UN humanitarian agencies.

Fu reiterated that the implementation of the two-state solution is the fundamental way out of the Middle East problem and said China calls for greater international diplomatic efforts to revitalize the political prospects of the two-state solution.

The envoy also said China supports the Security Council's early reconsideration of Palestine's application for full membership in the UN, and hopes that individual countries will not continue to create obstacles to that end.

China will continue to work with all parties to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine, peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel and lasting peace in the Middle East, he added.