- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in a phone call on Monday that “every country has the right to self-defense, but every country must abide by international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians.”
- Wang held contacts with Cohen and his counterpart in the Palestinian National Authority, Riyad al-Maliki, before talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington.
A general view of buildings destroyed during Israeli air strikes on the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza.
Ahmed Hasaballah | Getty Images News | Getty Images
China urged Israel to abide by international humanitarian law and protect the safety of Palestinian civilians in its war against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and called for peace talks between the two sides.
“Every country has the right to self-defense, but every country must abide by international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly said in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on Monday.
“as long [any resolution] It leads to peace, and China will strongly support it. as long [any resolution] He added: “If this leads to Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation, China will make every effort.” Read Wang’s call with Cohen.
The Israeli war on Hamas has entered its third week, and comes after the Palestinian armed group launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7. In response, Israel bombed the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The conflict has so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel, and retaliatory air strikes have killed more than 5,000 people in the Gaza Strip. CNBC was unable to independently verify these numbers.
“The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict affects the entire world and involves major choices between war and peace,” Wang said, avoiding any explicit and public reference to Hamas.
China also called for a “more credible, broad-based and effective” international peace summit to be held as soon as possible. The proposal aims to “resume peace talks to formulate a timetable and road map for peace between Palestine and Israel,” according to what Reuters reported. Readings In a separate call on Monday, Wang met with his counterpart from the Palestinian National Authority, Riyad al-Maliki.
Hamas is one of the two main political forces in the Palestinian territories, the other being Fatah, which was formerly known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. Fatah maintains control of the Palestinian National Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Wang’s calls on Monday came as he prepares to head to Washington later this week for meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Wang had told Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in a separate call on October 15 that Israel’s actions “went beyond self-defense” and that it must respond to the international community’s call to stop its “collective punishment.” People in Gaza.
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