War should stop; Justice should not be absent forever: Chinese president on Gaza

AFP | Beijing

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday called for a peace conference to end the war between Israel and Hamas, as he addressed Arab leaders at a forum aimed at bolstering ties with the region.

Xi is this week hosting His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and several other Arab leaders. China has positioned itself as a more neutral actor on the Israel-Palestinian conflict than its rival the United States, advocating for a two-state solution while

also maintaining good ties with Israel. China has pointed to the Middle East as a key node in its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, a central pillar of Xi’s bid to expand

Support

Addressing delegates, Xi expressed support for a “broadbased” peace conference to resolve the Israel-Hamas conflict. “The Middle East is a land bestowed with broad prospects for development, but the war is still raging on it,” Xi said.

“War should not continue indefinitely. Justice should not be absent forever,” he added. Speaking after Xi, Egypt’s Sisi urged the international community to ensure Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are not displaced from their war-ravaged territory. Egypt shares a border with Gaza and signed a historic peace deal with Israel in 1978.

Humanitarian assistance

“I... call on the international community to immediately provide for long term humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip and to end the Israeli siege,” Sisi said. He also called for the international community to “stop any attempt at forcing Palestinians to forcibly flee their land”.

Sisi’s comments come after the Israeli army said Wednesday it had gained “operational control” over the strategic Philadelphi corridor along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Buffer zone

The corridor had served as a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, and Israeli troops patrolled it until 2005 when they were withdrawn as part of a broader disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

“Sisi is interested in pocketing China’s political support at a time of high tensions with Israel,” Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow at London’s Chatham House think tank, told AFP. “Sisi has a deep sense that Egypt is increasingly backed into a corner and wants every support from major countries he can get,” he added.