Israel-Hamas war: China’s Middle East point man Zhai Jun meets Arab League envoys in latest bid to defuse Gaza crisis

It also said Zhai reiterated China’s long-standing support for the “two-state solution” to the Palestine crisis.

The Arab League said it expected China to continue to play a “constructive role” on the Palestinian issue, according to the Chinese statement.

‘Spirit of resistance’: Israel-Hamas war sees more Arab support for Palestinians

This came two days after Arab League foreign ministers – meeting for an emergency session at the bloc’s headquarters in Egyptian capital Cairo – urged Israel to return to negotiations on the two-state solution, which involves an independent state of Palestine and its peaceful coexistence with Israel.

Ministers at Wednesday’s meeting said it was important to note “the importance of resuming the peace process and starting serious negotiations between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel”, referring to an umbrella group representing the Palestinian people as a whole.

It also urged Israel to undo its “unjust decision” to cut electricity and water supplies to Gaza and called for food, fuel and humanitarian aid to be “immediately” allowed into the blockaded enclave.

Among the Arab League members, the stances of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are being closely watched by analysts.

Saudi Arabia has also reportedly declined a request from the United States to condemn Hamas, while observers said a potential US-brokered normalisation of Saudi ties with Israel might be on ice because of the latest conflict.

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Soldiers find ‘massacre’ in Israeli village as air strikes continue to pummel Gaza

Soldiers find ‘massacre’ in Israeli village as air strikes continue to pummel Gaza

China has avoided publicly expressing support for either side in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, but statements from Chinese diplomats over the past week suggested it was trying to act as a mediator.

Zhai, who has served as ambassador to several Arab countries and was vice foreign minister from 2009 to 2014, held separate phone calls with Palestinian, Egyptian, Israeli and Saudi diplomats in the past few days.

China to ‘soon’ send special envoy on Middle East de-escalation mission

Egypt has historically been a key mediator in the Israel-Palestine issue, and was the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state in 1979.

The following day, Zhai spoke by phone with Amal Jadou, the Palestinian Authority’s first deputy minister of foreign affairs, telling her China was deeply saddened by the war and the reports of casualties, while reiterating China’s support for the two-state solution.

On Thursday, Zhai Jun called for a ceasefire in what was China’s first public contact with Israel since the Hamas attack. “China has no self-interest in the Palestinian issue and always stands on the side of peace and justice,” Zhai told Rafi Harpaz, deputy director for the Asia-Pacific at the Israeli foreign ministry.

The same day, Zhai told a senior Saudi diplomat that China was willing to coordinate with Saudi Arabia to act as a mediator in the conflict.

This came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi – who Zhai reports to – made his first statement on the Israel-Hamas war.

In a phone call with a senior Brazilian official on Thursday, Wang called for the realisation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation, saying “justice has not been done to the Palestinian people”.

Wang made similar comments on Friday, following talks with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Beijing. “The Jewish nation is no longer uprooted in the world, when will the Palestinian nation return to its homeland?”, he was quoted as saying in an official readout.

Wang also said China would “soon” send its special envoy to several Middle Eastern countries to use its good offices, while pledging it would “provide urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza and the Palestinian Authority through United Nations channels”.

China has long provided aid to Gaza and other Palestinian areas.

In March 2021, China sent 100,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine for Palestinians and worked with Egypt to send 500,000 doses to Gaza with a team of medical experts.

In June, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that Beijing had funded more than 40 construction projects in Palestine.