Beijing calls for restoring dialogue

Cease-fire sought as casualties in conflict mount

China's call for cease-fire and dialogue for final resolution of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is in line with UN resolutions, and aims to break the cycle of destruction and disaster in the Middle East, experts say.

Casualties keep climbing amid intense Israeli strikes against Gaza Strip targets and firing of rockets by Hamas and other militant groups, despite Hamas saying it is open to a "political dialogue "for a truce.

China's position has always been on the side of equity and justice in the conflict, and has been consistent on the coexistence of Israel and Palestine state in accordance with the provisions of the Oslo Accords and UN resolutions, said Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, executive director of the Center for South Asia and International Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Oslo Accords are a set of pacts between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO.

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1397 (2002) affirms "a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders".

On Wednesday, Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun had a phone call with First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine Amal Jadou on the Palestine-Israel situation.

Zhai said the immediate priority is to achieve an immediate cease-fire and protect civilians, adding the international community should play an effective role in jointly stabilizing the situation and providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing on Tuesday: "China will maintain communication with all parties and continue to work for peace and stability in the Middle East."

On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: "To end the cycle of conflict between Palestine and Israel, it is essential to restart the peace talks, implement the two-state solution, and settle the Palestine question fully and properly through political means at an early date so as to take care of each party's legitimate concerns."

The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine, China's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"The world must play an immediate role in de-escalating the conflict through mediation and dialogue and reaffirming support for a two-state solution," said Khalid Taimur Akram, executive director of the Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future in Islamabad.

He noted China has called for all parties to exercise restraint, protect civilians, and immediately cease fire, and it condemned attacks against civilians and emphasized the importance of preventing further casualties, advocating a return to the peace process.

According to Akram, rather than de-escalating the conflict, the United States inadvertently fueled the situation in the region.

China has called upon the UN Security Council to take the necessary steps to promote dialogue, achieve a cease-fire, and restore peace in the region, he added.

Under threat again

The Middle East is again under threat of further division and destruction, said Khan. "Right from the beginning, the Chinese leadership emphasized… dialogue, diplomacy, and development to resolve this frozen conflict, which has now become fatal," he said.

Mutual respect, the granting of political sovereignty, and economic liberalization are the only way forward, Khan said, noting that ongoing conflict will further lead to radicalization, terrorism, political instability, and social disharmony in the region.

The Israeli government and the PLO agreed on a plan to implement a two-state solution as part of the Oslo Accords in 1993. Former Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid stated during the UN General Assembly's 77th session in 2022 that "a large majority of Israelis support the vision of the two-state solution".

Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, said China has made it clear it does not want to interfere in the internal matters of any country but it also desires an equitable, just resolution of all the problems, including those of the Palestinians who deserve an independent sovereign state, said Gul.

The crisis will have a spillover effect around the world and could even exacerbate other conflicts, said Karori Singh, former director and emeritus fellow of the South Asia Studies Centre at India's University of Rajasthan.

"Oil prices have already surged immediately after the conflict," Singh noted. "Obviously, it is leading to a humanitarian crisis."

The death toll from five days of fighting between Hamas and Israel rose sharply overnight as Israel kept up its bombardment of Gaza on Wednesday.

In Israel, the death toll rose to 1,200, making it the deadliest attack in the country's history, while Gaza officials reported more than 900 people killed as Israel pounded the territory with airstrikes.