Palestine is calling for greater involvement from China in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and they might just get what they’re asking for. This past Thursday, China reaffirmed they’re advocating for Palestinian Statehood when Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki came for a visit. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that there needs to be more peace talks on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in order to amend the “historical injustice” that has been put upon Palestinians for not having their own state.
Yi claimed that the fact that Palestine still does not have a sovereign state is a “terrible injustice” that can no longer prolong. China is in full support of Palestine reclaiming the territories that Israel captured during the Six-Day War of 1967, which include, the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, which will formulate the Palestinian independent state. Wang also advocated for East Jerusalem to be the future capital of the Palestinian state.
“Seventy years later, what we see is that our Palestinian brothers have yet to establish an independent state with full sovereignty… This is unfair, and this terrible injustice must be addressed, and it cannot continue.” – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
This past Thursday was not the first time China has publicly outed their support of Palestinian Statehood. In 2011, Palestine decided to seek recognition from the UN to be acknowledged as an independent state. That year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement claiming that they told Palestinian leaders in a meeting in Ramallah, Palestine that China has always supported the Palestinian cause. The statement also shows that Wu Sike, Special Envoy on the Middle East, expressed respect and support for the Palestinian’s bid for Statehood that given year. Wu Sike also expresses support for peace talks on the conflict in a statement released in 2014. Therefore, what was said on Thursday was just a reaffirmation on the stance of China’s support for Palestine.
The most recent attempt at resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was during the Paris conference for peace in the Middle East this January. Over 70 states and international organizations attended the conference. Israel did not attend the conference claiming that they’d rather talk about the matter directly to the Palestinian side.
