Since the outbreak of the new round of conflict, Palestinians in Gaza have languished amid indiscriminate bombardment. They are not spared even in hospitals, schools, refugee camps, and UN facilities. In UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ words, the people in Gaza face an avalanche of human suffering, said Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Xinhua reported.
It must be made clear, once again, that all violence and attacks against civilians should be condemned, and any violation of international law rejected. The indiscriminate use of force is unacceptable. Civilian facilities, such as hospitals, schools, and refugee camps, should not, and must not become military operation targets. The safety of UN staff and humanitarian and medical workers must be guaranteed, he said.
“We call on Israel, as the occupying power, to fulfil its obligations under international law, expeditiously restore the basic subsistence supplies to Gaza, secure local communications, ensure unobstructed delivery of humanitarian aid, and stop its collective punishment of the people of Gaza.”
China firmly rejects the forced displacement and the forcible relocation of the Palestinian population, and calls for the immediate lifting of the evacuation order for northern Gaza, he added.
As the secretary-general has said, the situation today did not happen in a vacuum. The fact behind the conflict in Gaza is that the Palestinian living space has been squeezed to the limit by more than half a century of Israeli occupation, said Geng.
He added that the Israeli regime must stop violating Security Council Resolution 2334, cease all settlement activities, stop expelling Palestinians, and stop intensifying settler violence.
The international community must face up to the root causes of the problem and must no longer use piecemeal crisis management in place of a comprehensive and just solution, or offset political and security deficits with limited economic and humanitarian measures, he said.
China calls on the United Nations and the Security Council to take responsible and meaningful action to support the Palestinian people in the restoration and exercise of their inalienable rights. As president of the Security Council for November, China will continue to maintain close communication with all parties concerned, play a constructive role in promoting the cessation of hostilities, protecting civilians, and averting a greater humanitarian catastrophe, to make unremitting efforts toward a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question, he said.
