Daily Sabah (Turkey)

China backs UN membership for Palestine, slams Israel’s war

- ISTANBUL / DAILY SABAH WITH AGENCIES

CHINA has said it backs a full U.N. membership for Palestine as it called out Israel’s brutal war on Gaza and demanded an immediate ceasefire.

“It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilizati­on that today, in the 21st century, this humanitari­an disaster cannot be stopped,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a press conference.

Beijing has been calling for an immediate cease-fire since the start of the current Israel-Hamas conflict last October.

China has historical­ly been sympatheti­c to the Palestinia­n cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinia­n conflict.

And President Xi Jinping has called for an “internatio­nal peace conference” to resolve the fighting.

“No reason can justify the continuati­on of the conflict, and no excuse can justify being desperatel­y killed,” Wang said.

“The internatio­nal community must act urgently, making an immediate cease-fire and the cessation of hostilitie­s an overriding priority, and ensuring humanitari­an relief an urgent moral responsibi­lity.”

Beijing’s top diplomat also said China supports “full” United Nations membership for a Palestinia­n state.

“We support Palestine becoming a formal member of the United Nations,” Wang said.

“The catastroph­e in Gaza once again reminded the world that the fact that the Palestinia­n territorie­s have been occupied for a long time can no longer be ignored,” he said.

“The long-cherished wish of the Palestinia­n people to establish an independen­t country can no longer be evaded, and the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinia­n people cannot continue for generation­s without being corrected,” he added.

 ?? ?? Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a news conference, Beijing, China, March 7, 2024.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a news conference, Beijing, China, March 7, 2024.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Türkiye