CHINA ASKS UN COUNCIL TO ACT, SLAMS U.S. BIDEN TALKS TO ABBAS ON GAZA ESCALATION

Beijing, May 16: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on the UN Security Council to seek an early de-escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers. He also blamed the US for the council’s lack of action so far.

“Regrettably, the council has so far failed to reach an agreement, with the United States standing on the opposite side of international justice,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang as saying in a phone conversation Saturday with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

He expressed support for a two-state solution, and said China, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, expects all parties to speak.

Ramallah, May 16: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken on the phone with President Joe Biden and urged the US to intervene in the conflict and “put an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinians”.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa says Abbas on Saturday updated Biden on the escalations across the Palestinian territories and said he was working to halt “the Israeli aggression against our people and to reach a ceasefire”. The report says Abbas also told Biden that “security and stability will be achieved when the Israeli occupation ends,” adding that Palestinians are ready and willing to work toward peace with international mediators.

Biden stressed the need to achieve calm and reduce violence in the Mideast, noting intensive American diplomatic efforts to that end. That’s according to the Wafa statement.

Biden told Abbas on Saturday that Hamas must stop rocket attacks on Israel, the White House said.

Biden “stressed the need for Hamas to cease firing rockets into Israel,” a statement said.

Biden also “underscored his strong commitment to a negotiated two-state solution as the best path to reach a just and lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”