China urges Israel to halt 'forced establishment' of settlement expansion in occupied West Bank

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday urged Israel to halt "forced establishment" of settlements in the occupied West Bank and called for the full reopening of access to the Gaza Strip. Beijing maintains that the Palestinian question is the “biggest historical injustice of this century” and that the two-state solution is the correct path to resolving it, Wang told Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of the seventh CICA summit. He described the current regional situation as tense and added that peace and tranquility remained far from being achieved. The Chinese foreign minister said the urgent priority was to fully reopen access to Gaza to prevent its two million residents from facing a further humanitarian catastrophe, while calling on Israel to halt and reverse settlement expansion in the West Bank. Wang also said Beijing was willing to work with Israel to advance bilateral cooperation and strengthen public support for ties, noting that 2027 will mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of their innovative comprehensive partnership. Wang said the Palestinian issue was at the root of the Middle East conflict, adding that both Israelis and Palestinians had the right to live in peace and establish independent states. He said China believed that sustained commitment to peace and adherence to “the correct direction” of the two-state solution would eventually bring the peace people had long awaited. In a separate meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin on Thursday, Wang said China “firmly” supports the Palestinian people’s “just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights.” Unless the Palestinian issue is “resolved fairly, lasting peace and stability cannot be achieved in the Middle East,” he said. “The Palestinian question should not be marginalized, and the world must not forget the two million Palestinian people in Gaza struggling on the brink of death. Justice may be delayed but never absent,” Wang said. He added that China would “continue to stand on the side of international justice and remain on the side of the oppressed nations, and continue to speak up for the just cause of Palestine on multilateral platforms.” Since October 2023, Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, backed by the US, has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and wounded over 175,000 others, according to the ministry. The offensive has also destroyed 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure. Attacks by Israeli forces and occupiers against Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have also intensified since then.