Arab and Muslim ministers appealed for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Monday, as their delegation arrived in Beijing for the first part of a tour to push for the flow of humanitarian supplies and an immediate end of hostilities in the devastated Palestinian enclave.
The delegation, which is scheduled to meet with officials from each of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), also intends to apply pressure on the West to reject Israel’s justification for its actions against Palestinians as self-defence.
Arab, Muslim Delegation in Beijing
Officials from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation are among those who met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Monday.
Saudi Foreign Minister (FM) Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stated, “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.”
Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukry told his Chinese counterpart in comments released by his ministry on X (formerly known as Twitter), “We look forward to a stronger role on the part of great powers such as China in order to stop the attacks against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, there are major countries that give cover to the current Israeli attacks.”
Saudi Arabia has also pushed the US and Israel to stop the conflict in Gaza, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman convening Arab and Muslim leaders to reiterate that message.
Foreign Minister HH Prince @FaisalbinFarhan announces the start of the work of the ministerial committee in charge of the Arab-Islamic summit concerned with formulating an international action to stop the war on Gaza and the first stop is China. pic.twitter.com/Wn9rxZNsUE
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) November 18, 2023
Irit Ben-Abba, Israel’s ambassador to Beijing, told foreign media at a press conference on Monday that she hoped there would be “no statements from this visit about a ceasefire, now is not the time.”
Additionally, she stated that Israel intended the team would discuss hostages held by Hamas “and call for their immediate release without preconditions,” and that all parties concerned should discuss Egypt’s “role in facilitating humanitarian assistance.”
Reportedly, nearly 240 hostages were captured during Hamas’s deadly cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October, causing Israel to invade Gaza to destroy the Islamist terrorist group.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run government, at least 13,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli bombings since then, including at least 5,500 children.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announces:
— Chinese Mission to UN (@Chinamission2un) November 20, 2023
A delegation consisting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers will visit China from November 20 to 21. Members of the delegation include Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and…
China’s Decision to Support Arab Pleas
China’s Wang claimed Beijing was a “good friend and brother of Arab and Muslim countries,” and that it had “always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests.”
Since the outbreak of fighting, China’s foreign ministry has frequently refrained from denouncing Hamas and instead advocated for de-escalation, urging Israel and Palestine to pursue a “two-state solution” for an independent Palestine.
On Monday, Wang said that China was committed 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.”
Reports suggest that last year, China’s Middle East special envoy, Zhai Jun, met with officials from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as those of the Arab League and the EU, to negotiate a two-state solution and UN recognition for Palestine.
Beijing has strengthened relations with countries in the Middle East and the Global South while deepening partnerships with non-Western-led multilateral bodies such as the BRICS bloc of nations.