Chinese envoy calls for collective int'l efforts to solve Palestine question

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called for collective international efforts to solve the Palestine question.

The question of Palestine is at the core of the Middle East issue. A comprehensive and just solution is critical to regional peace and stability, as well as international fairness and justice, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

Since the beginning of the year, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory has continued to be volatile with renewed fighting in Gaza resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties and extensive infrastructure damage, as well as a flare-up of violent clashes in the West Bank, he told a General Assembly meeting on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East.

"Facts once again prove that piecemeal crisis management cannot replace a comprehensive and just solution and that economic and humanitarian assistance as a temporary measure cannot close the entrenched political and security deficit," said Geng. "What is needed now is firm political will and effective diplomatic action and the collective efforts of the entire international community, including the Security Council."

He said China encourages Palestine and Israel to pursue common security.

Israel and Palestine are inseparable neighbors with interdependent and indivisible security. If one party's security is based on the other's insecurity, the cycle of violence will not be broken and the security dilemma cannot be overcome. The international community should pay equal attention to the security concerns of both sides and encourage them to find the greatest common ground through dialogue and cooperation to achieve common security, he said.

China calls for upholding international rule of law. Settlement activities violate international law, encroach on Palestinian land, expropriate Palestinian resources and squeeze the living space of the Palestinian people. China urges Israel to immediately cease all settlement activities, stop unilaterally changing the status quo in the occupied territory, and delineate the final borders through peaceful negotiations.

China supports the improvement of the Palestinian economy and livelihoods. China calls on Israel to ease unreasonable restrictions on land use and the movement of people in the occupied territory, create conditions for the development of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and lift the blockade on Gaza as soon as possible. The international community should provide assistance to Palestine through multiple channels to help ease its financial crisis and guarantee public services, he said.

China urges the full implementation of the two-state solution. The search for a lasting solution on the basis of the two-state solution is international consensus and the only way forward, which must be firmly adhered to. The international community must translate the two-state solution from consensus into action and from vision into reality, he said.

Geng reiterated China's support for the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and for the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel and the joint development of Arabs and Jews.

As a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible major country, China will continue to work with the international community to practice true multilateralism and actively contribute to the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question and enduring peace, universal security and common prosperity in the Middle East, he said.