China calls for peace talks to resume between Israel and Palestinians

Want China Times, Xinhua and Staff Reporter 2014-10-22

Liu Jieyi speaks at a reception in New York, Sept. 30. (File photo/CNS)

A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on Israel to create the necessary conditions for the resumption of peace talks with Palestinians.

At an open debate of the Security Council on the situation of the Middle East, Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, urged Israel to put an end to the construction of settlements in the West Bank, lift a current blockade on Gaza, and release Palestinian prisoners as soon as possible.

Liu said despite the ceasefire in Gaza, things on the ground remain fragile and the humanitarian situation is worrying. To change it, the envoy said it requires the Palestinian Authority and Israel to work together with the rest of the international community.

"The recurrent conflicts between Hamas and Israel in Gaza show once again that deadlock in talk is bound to aggravate tensions and drag both parties down into a cycle of violence," he said.

Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks in July 2013 after a three-year hiatus. The talks stalled in March this year and collapsed in April, with both sides accusing the other of failing to keep commitments. Israel wanted the Hamas, the Palestinian faction currently controlling the Gaza Strip, to demilitarize while Hamas demanded a lift to a blockade on the enclave put in place in 2007.

"We hope that the Palestinians and Israel will make the strategic choice to move towards peace talks, seizing the opportunity of a ceasefire to resume and push forward substantial negotiations so as to achieve an early settlement of the question of Palestine that will eventually create an independent state that enjoys full sovereignty on the basis of the 1967 border, with eastern Jerusalem as its capital," Liu said.

There is a pressing need for reconstruction in Gaza, Liu said, adding that China hopes Israel will cooperate actively with the international community's relief efforts to enable aid to reach the people of the Palestinian territories quickly and smoothly.

China, a firm supporter for peace between Palestinians and Israelis, has been pushing for peace and negotiations in the region, including a five-point proposal for peace presented shortly after the outbreak of the most recent conflict earlier this summer. It has twice provided financial emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

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