Days after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a fatal attack on Israeli territory, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi blamed the Middle East conflict's quick escalation on a lack of justice for the Palestinian people.
In a phone conversation with Celso Amorim, a former foreign minister of Brazil and current special assistant to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Beijing's top diplomat stated: "The crux of the issue lies in the fact that justice has not been done to the Palestinian people." The ministry of Wang published a statement on the call.
The conversation was made immediately before the U.N. Security Council's emergency meeting on Friday to address the Israel-Hamas conflict. This month, the council's nonpermanent member Brazil is serving as chair.
To avoid further escalation, Wang pleaded with all parties in the Middle East to exhibit moderation. He said that China is prepared to work closely with several parties, including Brazil, and that the United Nations has a duty to take a role in the Palestinian problem.
Beijing has maintained a mostly neutral stance, regretting civilian fatalities but not denouncing Hamas, amid an outpouring of Western support for Israel after Hamas' weekend offensive that claimed over 1,300 lives. Immediately after the first assault, it demanded an immediate halt to hostilities and reiterated its support for a two-state solution that would establish a sovereign Palestinian homeland.
However, Wang's remark on how China views the source of the issue seemed to signal a hardening of its position in the midst of frequent Israeli bombings on Gaza and talk of a potential ground operation to remove Hamas, which governs the territory.
In an effort to increase its power in the area, China earlier this year positioned itself as a possible mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.
Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, told reporters on Thursday 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."
