China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on Thursday called Israel’s war in Gaza a “disgrace for civilisation” and reiterated Beijing’s calls for an “immediate ceasefire”.
China also reiterated its call for other members of the UN Security Council stop blocking Palestine from becoming a member of the United Nations as a first step towards the creation of a Palestinian state.
“We support Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations and call on individual members of the Security Council not to set obstacles for this any more,” he said Thursday at a news conference during the annual meeting of China’s legislature.
Zhang Jun, China’s UN ambassador, said in January that his country supports UN membership for Palestine as a first step toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
The Security Council needs to send a clear and unequivocal signal, reaffirming the urgency of the two-state solution as the sole feasible way out, he was quoted as saying by China’s official state media.
China, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, backed Palestine becoming a UN member in a joint statement issued last June during a state visit to China by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Gaza ceasefire talks are at an impasse, Egyptian officials say
Egyptian officials said Thursday that negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza are at an impasse as Hamas insists on a process to end to the war.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker an agreement that would stop the fighting for six weeks, and include the release of 40 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
The Egyptian officials said that Hamas has accepted the proposal as a first stage, but wants commitments that it will eventually lead to a more permanent cease-fire.
Israel has publicly ruled out that demand, saying it intends to resume the offensive after any ceasefire with the goal of destroying Hamas.
The Egyptian officials say Israel wants to confine the negotiations to the more limited agreement.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the negotiations with media.
