China Demands Israel Open Gaza Access, Halt West Bank Settlements

China's Foreign Minister presented Israeli President Itzhak Herzog with two key demands during a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of the 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. The first demand concerned the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China stating, "The urgent task today is to fully open access to the Gaza Strip to provide assistance to 2 million civilians on the brink of survival and prevent the spread of humanitarian catastrophe." He emphasized that Israel must open access to the Gaza Strip.

The second demand from Beijing called for Israel to cease settlement construction in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). The Minister of Foreign Affairs of China asserted that both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples have the right to peaceful coexistence and to establish independent states, urging Israel to "stop and abandon its actions of forcibly establishing settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan River."

According to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China stated that Beijing seeks peace and reconciliation in the region, identifying the unresolved Palestinian issue as the root cause of the Middle East problem. He called on all parties to pursue a peaceful settlement and adhere to the two-state solution, which China considers the correct path and the "greatest historical injustice of this century."

the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China also expressed China's readiness to collaborate with the international community on a comprehensive security concept for the Middle East and to facilitate the parties' return to dialogue. Previously, China's Deputy Chairman, Han Zheng, speaking at the UN General Assembly, reiterated Beijing's insistence on a long-term solution to the Palestinian issue based on the 1947 UN partition plan for two states.