On Thursday, China released a position paper on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, which it called “a serious humanitarian disaster” and “a grave concern of the international community.”
In this regard, the Asian superpower proposed a five-point plan to resolve the conflict:
1. Implement a comprehensive ceasefire and end the fighting: Beijing called on the involved parties to “truly implement the relevant UNGA and UNSC resolutions and immediately realize a durable and sustained humanitarian truce.”
2. Protect civilians effectively: China said that it is “imperative to stop any violent attacks against civilians and violations of international humanitarian law, and avoid attacks on civilian facilities.” It also called on the UNSC to “send a clear message on opposing forced transfer of the Palestinian civilian population, [prevent] the displacement of Palestinian civilians, and [call] for the release of all civilians and hostages held captive as soon as possible.”
During its month-long presidency of the Security Council in November, China has led efforts to resolve the Israel-Hamas crisis. One of its key roles is also peacekeeping.
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) November 29, 2023
The UN head of peacekeeping operations describes Beijing’s impact on operations worldwide. #UNSC #Gaza… https://t.co/oFpeE9pYSB
3. Ensure humanitarian assistance: It called on “relevant parties” to refrain from depriving Gaza’s civilian population of “supplies and services indispensable to their survival, set up humanitarian corridors in Gaza to enable rapid, safe, unhindered and sustainable humanitarian access, and avoid a humanitarian disaster of even greater gravity.” The country further urged the international community “to ramp up humanitarian assistance” and “support the coordinating role” of the UN and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
4. Enhance diplomatic mediation: China called on the UNSC to “leverage its role in facilitating peace as mandated in the UN Charter” and demand that parties “exercise restraint to prevent the conflict from widening and uphold peace and stability in the Middle East,” urging the international body to “value” the role of regional organisations and “encourage countries with influence on parties to the conflict to uphold an objective and just position.”
5. Seek political settlement: Beijing stressed that the “fundamental settlement” of the question of Palestine “lies in the implementation of the two-state solution, restoration of the legitimate national rights of Palestine, and the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 border and with east Jerusalem as its capital.”
Additionally, the proposal suggested that a “more broad-based, authoritative, and effective international peace conference” must be led and organised by the UN to help implement the two-state solution and “facilitate a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the question of Palestine.”
It concluded by underscoring that “Any arrangement on the future of Gaza must respect the will and independent choice of the Palestinian people, and must not be imposed upon them.”