As reported by Xinhua, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and China-U.S. relations.
Wang - a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee - noted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is escalating continuously and is at the risk of losing control.
The following reports, with exception of additional cited references and a footnote, are extracted from
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his US counterpart Antony Blinken on Saturday that Beijing “opposes all actions that harm civilians and condemns practices that violate international law.”
Wang said the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues to escalate and faces the risk of getting out of control, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry about a telephone conversation with Blinken.
China believes that safeguarding its own security cannot be at the expense of harming innocent civilians," he said. "There is no way out through military means, and using violence for violence will only create a vicious cycle."
Blinken briefed Wang on his visit to the Middle East and the US’ position on the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it said.
Wang pointed out that the top priority is a cease-fire and to cool the situation as soon as possible to avoid exacerbating the humanitarian disaster, abide by international humanitarian law and open up channels for humanitarian relief.
The fundamental way to solve the Palestinian issue lies in implementing the ‘two-state solution’, establishing an independent Palestinian state, and realizing peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel," Wang said, adding that China wants an international peace conference to promote the achievement of a broad consensus.
Wang said that in dealing with international and regional hot-spot issues, major countries should adhere to objectivity and fairness, maintain calmness and restraint, and take the lead in abiding by international law.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on last Thursday told reporters that "the Palestinian-Israeli conflict keeps repeating for a fundamental reason: The Middle East peace process has been off the right track, the foundation of the two-state solution has been continuously eroded, and relevant U.N. resolutions are not followed through in good faith."
The crux of this existential issue lies in the fact that justice has not been done to the Palestinian people. Instead, only by encouraging Israel’s license to kill - with a genocidal campaign (mondoweiss) unleashed in Gaza (Palestine Chronicle), where it is becoming The Israel-Gaza massacre (Caitlin Johnstone), all in pursuance of USA geostrategic reason - in collaboration with an intransigent Israel - being the sole hegemon in the middle of the Arab world, (Prof. Yakov M. Rabkin).
Wang Yi in a phone call with Brazil's Celso Amorim, a former foreign minister and now a special adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, re-stated that the United Nations has a responsibility and duty to play a role in the Palestinian issue, and China is ready to cooperate closely with various parties, including Brazil, as part of China’s stand on The UN Charter as the cornerstone of the post-war international order.
A Footnote
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the country's Foreign Ministry issued statements called for reconciliation on both sides. Despite the challenges and complexities of existential situations, Turkey is in an unique standing on this evolving crisis, (Balkan Insight, 13/10/2023).
One crucial advantage is President Erdoğan’s capacity to engage in dialogue with both leaders of the conflicting parties.
Secondly, being a Muslim-majority country with links to both the West and the Arab world, Ankara is in a vital position with a strong posturing interest by pivoting a push to reduce tensions in the region.
Then, German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, spoke in the Bundestag emphasising that President Erdogan could play important role in an mediation effort.
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Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process
In a related situational event, the Chinese Embassy in Tel Aviv also confirmed that a young Chinese-Israeli woman was taken hostage during the surprise attacks launched by Hamas inside Israel on that Saturday.
In a post on the social networking site Weibo, the embassy stated that the woman whose images at the moment of abduction on motorcycle - viewed in international publications and social media - was Noa Argamani. She was taken hostage in the raid at a music festival near the Gaza border.
"Noa is a Chinese-Israeli born in Beijing. She was kidnapped by Hamas militants at (from) a music festival in southern Israel and taken to Gaza," according to the post.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at a press briefing in Beijing said China is against "violence and attacks" against civilians and stated that they "noted the incident" and "tried to verify the information."
The 25-year-old Argamani, whose father is an Israeli and mother is a Chinese, studied engineering at Ben-Gurion University.
For Noa Argamani’s 26th birthday, her family held a dinner with cake and two empty chairs: one for her and one for her boyfriend. Both were seen on video being kidnapped by Hamas, according to a newyorktimes 12th October, 2023 report.
In a later report, Liora Argamani says her daughter Noa was born in Israel, not Beijing, as indicated in a previous Israeli embassy social media post.