On Monday, a team of Arab and Muslim ministers visited Beijing as part of a trip to urge a halt to hostilities and the entry of humanitarian supplies into the devastated Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
The team is putting pressure on the West to reject Israel’s explanation of its actions against the Palestinians as self-defense, and it is meeting with officials from each of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The officials holding meetings with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Monday are from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, among others.
“We are here to send a clear signal: that is we must immediately stop the fighting and the killings, we must immediately deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
In addition to calling for an investigation into “war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing” in the Palestinian territories, last month’s unusual joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh also requested the International Criminal Court to do so.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, convened Arab and Muslim officials to reaffirm the kingdom’s call for a halt to hostilities in Gaza.
Following Hamas’s murderous cross-border assault into Israel on October 7, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip with the purpose of destroying the resistance group. About 240 captives were captured during the invasion.
Since then, at least 13,000 Palestinians, including at least 5,500 children, have been murdered in Israeli bombardments, according to the Hamas-run government in Gaza.
When asked by foreign media during a conference on Monday, Israeli Ambassador to Beijing Irit Ben-Abba said she hoped there wouldn’t be “any statements from this visit about a ceasefire, now is not the time.”
She expressed optimism that the team will discuss the Israeli captives held by Hamas “and call for their immediate release without preconditions,” as well as discuss Egypt’s “role in facilitating humanitarian assistance.”
Wang of China described Beijing as a “good friend and brother of Arab and Muslim countries,” stating that it “always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, China’s foreign ministry has frequently refrained from directly denouncing Hamas, instead urging a de-escalation and the pursuit of a “two-state solution” for an independent Palestine between Israel and Palestine.
After nearly three years of Covid lockdowns, Xi has begun a diplomatic offensive against the United States and its allies, which he claims are trying to limit and oppress China.
Beijing has strengthened connections with countries in the Middle East and the Global South while deepening partnerships with non-Western led multilateral bodies like the BRICS bloc of nations.
On Monday, Wang stated that China will attempt to “quell the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible, alleviate the humanitarian crisis and promote an early, comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue.”
Zhai Jun, China’s Middle East ambassador, has met with Israeli and Palestinian officials, as well as those from the Arab League and the European Union, during the last year to discuss a two-state solution and Palestine’s bid for UN recognition.
