Mar. 7, 2024
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip as a “disgrace to civilization,” reiterating his country’s call for an “immediate ceasefire” and affirming its support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations.
During a press conference on the sidelines of the second session of the National Council in Beijing on Wednesday, the Chinese minister said that “the failure to end this humanitarian disaster today, in the 21st century, is a tragedy for humanity and disgrace for civilization,”
“Nothing justifies the protraction of the conflict or the killing of the civilian population,” he added.
Wang Yi also affirmed his country’s strong support for the “just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights”.
He stressed that China “will continue to work with the international community to restore peace, save lives, and uphold justice” adding that China supports “Palestine’s bid to become a full member state of the United Nations.”
Right to Armed Struggle
On February 21, China sharply criticized the United States for vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Beijing said the move effectively gave a “green light to the continued slaughter” of Palestinians.
One day later, addressing the International Court of Justice, the Chinese representative said the Palestinians’ use of armed struggle to gain independence from foreign and colonial rule is “legitimate” and “well-founded” in international law.
“In pursuit of the right to self-determination, Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of an independent state is (an) inalienable right well founded in international law,” Ma Xinmin told the ICJ in The Hague.
Citing resolutions by the UN General Assembly, Beijing’s envoy to the top world court said that people struggling for self-determination could use “all available means, including armed struggle.”
“The struggle waged by peoples for their liberation, right to self-determination, including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression, domination against foreign forces should not be considered terror acts,” Ma stated in his address to the ICJ, citing international conventions.
Genocide Continues
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 30,800 Palestinians have been killed, and 72,298 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
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