China reiterates call for ceasefire talks, political solution over Palestine

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, said on Thursday that ceasefire negotiations and a political solution are the fundamental means to solve the Palestinian question.

It must be noted that blind faith in achieving a total victory in Gaza will only result in more innocent civilian casualties and will not create the conditions for the release of hostages, nor will it bring peace or tranquility to Israel and the region, Fu said at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

Noting that the UN Security Council, the International Court of Justice and others in the international community have repeatedly sent clear calls for a ceasefire and an end to the fighting, Fu said Israel has turned a deaf ear to them and has not shown any sign of relenting to those calls.

Fu said that more than two months after the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2735, the Israeli military operations in Gaza continue causing new casualties every day. Meanwhile, the repeated provocative and adventurous actions by the Israeli side have intensified the risk of conflict spillovers, he added.

It must be noted that humanitarian issues cannot be politicized, hunger cannot be weaponized, and civilian lives cannot be trivialized as bargaining chips, Fu stressed. Israel must fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law by opening all border crossings, guaranteeing rapid and safe access to humanitarian supplies at scale, ceasing restrictions and attacks on the United Nations and humanitarian agencies, and providing support and cooperation for the polio vaccination program in Gaza, he added.

It must be noted that sustainable security can only be achieved by upholding the concept of common security, the Chinese diplomat said, adding that regional peace must be built with the responsible participation of all parties. Achieving an independent Palestinian state and implementation of the two-state solution is the only viable way forward for the political settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli question, Fu stressed.

He said that China urges Israel to immediately cease all military operations in Gaza, to immediately stop its actions that stoke escalation of the situation in the region and to end immediately placing obstacles to a ceasefire in Gaza.

China urges countries with significant influence to demonstrate a sincere, impartial and responsible attitude in pushing Israel to cease its military operations in Gaza as soon as possible and to stop the killing of civilians, he added.

China stands ready to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts to end the war in Gaza at an early date, alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe, implement the two-state solution and achieve lasting peace and security in the Middle East, Fu said.