Chinese envoy calls for action to promote settlement of Palestinian question

Zhang Jun (C), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Aug. 25, 2022. The Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the international community to take effective measures to put the settlement of the Palestinian question back on track. (Xinhua/Xie E)

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on the international community to take effective measures to put the settlement of the Palestinian question back on track.

The status quo in the occupied Palestinian territory is not sustainable. The international community must rise above piecemeal crisis management, face squarely the root causes, take effective action to promote an early return of the settlement of the Palestinian question to the right track, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

For the past month, the volatile situation in the occupied Palestinian territory has been stirring the nerves of the whole world. The escalation in Gaza has led to hundreds of civilian casualties and massive damage to infrastructure, once again pushing the situation to the brink of full-scale war and plunging the people of Gaza into fear and dire straits, he told the UN Security Council.

It is imperative to promote the effective observance of the cease-fire by all parties and the exercise of restraint. Diplomatic efforts on all fronts should continue, he said.

Zhang asked the international community to encourage Palestine and Israel to pursue common security.

Israel and Palestine are and will remain neighbors. Their security is interdependent and indivisible. Seeking absolute security, taking unilateral actions, and basing one's own security on the insecurity of the other side will only aggravate mistrust, heighten tensions, and trap them in an endless cycle of violence, he said.

The international community should attach equal importance to the security concerns of both Palestine and Israel, and encourage the two sides to find the greatest common denominator through dialogue and cooperation to achieve common security. At the same time, the occupying power should effectively fulfill its obligations under international law to protect civilians in the occupied territory.

He called for efforts to promptly reverse the negative trends on the ground.

The continued expansion of settlement activities encroaches on Palestinian land, swallows up Palestinian resources, and violates Palestine's right to self-determination, making a contiguous, independent and sovereign state of Palestine more out of reach with each passing day. Every inch of settlement expansion adds a new obstacle to the two-state solution, said Zhang. "We call for the immediate cessation of all settlement activities, the stopping of unilateral changes to the status quo in the occupied Palestinian territory, and demarcating the final boundaries between Palestine and Israel through peaceful negotiations."

The Palestinian question has been dragging on for over 70 years. Generations of Palestine refugees have lost their homes and suffered from displacement. Countless Palestinian children have been deprived of hope and a future. What is lacking in the settlement of the Palestinian question is not grand plans or loud slogans, but the courage to stand up for justice and actions to fulfill commitments, he said.

Whether the United Nations and its Security Council are ready to take up their responsibilities and resolute to act is being watched by the international community and recorded by history. It is imperative to muster a sense of urgency, take substantive steps to advance the two-state solution, and support the Palestinian people in restoring and exercising their inalienable rights, so as to fundamentally achieve the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel and the two peoples and lasting peace in the Middle East, he said.