China, Egypt urge immediate end to Gaza violence
August 4, 2014, 3:47 am

Wang also met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah El-Sissi and conveyed Beijing’s continued support for the government in Cairo [Xinhua]

Egypt is a considered a crucial player in mediating a lasting ceasefire between Hamas, the ruling power in Gaza, and Israel.

On Friday, a 72-hour ceasefire collapsed with both sides blaming each other ahead of scheduled talks between the Israelis, Hamas, Fatah from the West Bank, the UN and US negotiators in Cairo.

“All movements including airstrikes, ground offensive and launches of rockets should be stopped. Any abuse of force that caused deaths of civilians is unacceptable. All behaviors of violence against violence should be abandoned,” Wang said during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukry.

Despite the collapse of the ceasefire, Egypt has continued to urge both Hamas and Israel to abide by the humanitarian considerations in the agreement and end hostilities to give negotiations a chance.

China has in previous weeks expressed grave concern for the mounting civilian casualties. Late on Sunday, the death toll had reached 1,830 Palestinians killed and over 10,000 wounded. Many of the dead are women and children.

Israel has lost 63 soldiers, and three civilians.

China was among other BRICS countries which voted on July 23 for a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution titled “Ensuring Respect for International Law in The Occupied Palestinian Territories including East Jerusalem”, which called for an inquiry into possible war crimes committed during Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Twenty-nine  countries in the 46-nation Council voted for the resolution; the US voted against the resolution while 17 other mostly European members abstained.

China believes that to end the war, both sides must first refrain from using force to impose their demands on each other. They should then work on creating a means to ensure security between them. While Israel’s security concerns should also be recognized, Wang said that the siege of Gaza must end.

On July 21, Chinese Chinese President Xi Jinping said: “We are seriously concerned about and saddened by the conflict in Gaza, which have caused heavy casualty of civilians.”

“We support the mediation efforts by the United Nations, regional countries and the Arab League,” said Xi, reaffirming that China has always supported the just cause of the Palestinian people.

Xi said Palestine and Israel must meet each other half way, so as to resume peace negotiations at an early date.

Meanwhile, Wang also met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah El-Sissi and conveyed Beijing’s continued support for the government in Cairo and the people of the country.

Wang also delivered a message from Xi stressing the benefits to the multi-polarization of the world when countries like China and Egypt, which plays a critical regional role, can strengthen their ties.

Wang stressed that China was ready to enhance military exchanges between the two countries, and cooperate on security and anti-terrorism measures.

Source: Agencies