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BEIJING: Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope ofself-defence” and the Israeli government must “cease its collectivepunishment of the people of Gaza”, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said inremarks published Sunday.
Wang, who made the comments on a call to his Saudi Arabian counterpartPrince Faisal bin Farhan on Saturday, said “all parties should not take anyaction to escalate the situation and should return to the negotiating tableas soon as possible,” according to a foreign ministry readout.
Chinese envoy Zhai Jun will visit the Middle East next week to push for aceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict and promote peace talks, statebroadcaster CCTV reported Sunday.
Zhai “will visit the Middle East next week to coordinate with variousparties for a ceasefire, to protect civilians, ease the situation, andpromote peace talks,” CCTV said in a video posted to its official socialmedia account on Sunday.
The CCTV report came as Israel appeared poised for a ground offensiveagainst Hamas militants in Gaza.
More than one million people in the northern part of the crowded enclavehave been ordered to leave ahead of the expected assault, an exodus thataid groups said would set off a humanitarian disaster.
The cramped and impoverished territory, where 2.3 million residents live ontop of each other, has been under a land, air and sea blockade since 2006.
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The latest deadly Israeli salvos were sparked by a Hamas raid which sawfighters break through the heavily fortified border between the Gaza Stripand Israel and gun down, stab and burn to death more than 1,300 people.
In Gaza, health officials said Israel’s response had killed more than 2,200people. As on the Israeli side, most of them were civilians.
Zhai said in an interview with CCTV that “the prospect of furtherbroadening and outward spillover (of the conflict) is deeply worrying”,according to the broadcaster.
Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi called on Saturday for the United States to“play a constructive and responsible role” in the conflict and urged “theconvening of an international peace meeting as soon as possible to promotethe reaching of broad consensus”.
Zhai met Friday with the Arab League’s representatives in China and saidBeijing supported the regional group “in playing an important role on thePalestine issue”, according to a foreign ministry statement.
He told the bloc that Beijing would “make unremitting efforts to get theMiddle East peace process back on track”, the statement added. -APP/AFP