China bats for Palestine, says the issue should not be sidelined

Reaffirming his country’s support for Palestine, China’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday asserted that the issue should not be sidelined, let alone forgotten, regardless of global dynamics.

Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting, Zhang Jun said the Palestinian issue lies "at the heart of the Middle East issue” and cannot be put on the backburner.

He said the fundamental reason for the repeated escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories was that the legitimate national rights of Palestinians “have not been realized and the two-state solution has not been put into practice”.

The remarks came in the wake of recent violent raids by Israeli regime forces against Palestinian worshipers in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

The renewed aggression by the occupying forces in the holy month of Ramadan has drawn widespread condemnation and outrage across the world.

The Chinese ambassador said Beijing condemns all actions that violate the historical status quo of the religious site and calls on Israel to halt the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

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Zhang said China calls on all parties, in particular the Israeli regime, to prevent the situation from escalating further or going out of control.

He called on the UN Security Council to take recent developments in occupied al-Quds with seriousness, take urgent actions and speak with one voice.

“Settlements break the contiguity of occupied territories, squeeze the living space of the Palestinian people, and jeopardize the prospects of realizing a two-state solution,” Zhang said.

“China urges Israel to stop the demolitions of Palestinian homes, stop the evictions of Palestinians, stop the expansion of settlements, and to create conditions for the development of Palestinian communities in the West Bank,” he added. 

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories.

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The international community must create conditions for the development of Palestinian communities in the West Bank under the provisions of Security Council Resolution 2234, he said at the UN Security Council open debate on the Middle East situation.

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which was adopted on December 23, 2016, calls on world countries to distinguish in their dealings between Israeli communities and Palestinian lands occupied by the Israeli regime.

“Along with the international community, China will continue its tireless efforts toward a comprehensive and just solution,” the envoy asserted.

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