of South China Morning Post (SCMP) Monday report Palestinian leaders and defenders of their cause are increasingly looking to China as their last hope for ending Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.
Palestinians want China to go beyond paying lip service to a “two-state solution” and more forcefully oppose Israel’s plans to invade the southern border city of Rafah in Gaza.
China is always repeated Its belief is that only the creation of a Palestinian state can bring stability to the entire current crisis, even as Yemen’s Houthis, allied with Hamas and supported by Iran, are attacking ships in the Red Sea. , despite the orders of the Chinese government, did not interfere with anything. clear interest It’s about keeping transportation lanes open.
Palestinian leaders and allies, including Razan Shawamreh, a researcher at the University of the Eastern Mediterranean, believe China can “do more” to promote a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Palestinians’ sense of alienation and vulnerability resulting from U.S. policies supporting Israeli crimes has prompted them to find potential alternatives for support and solidarity, and they have found it in China. “There are,” Shawamle said. SCMP.
Like all Palestinian defenders, Shawamre has completely forgotten the atrocities of 10/7 and has not given much thought to how Hamas’ actions contributed to “the alienation and vulnerability of the Palestinian people.” Ta. As far as he is concerned, the situation in Gaza is purely a power struggle, with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping calling for “collective punishment against the people of Gaza,” as he described Israel’s response to Hamas terrorism. It could be leaning even harder toward Israel to end it. November.
“I claim that [China] Recognizing China’s growing influence and given the positive respect for China by both parties to the conflict, Mr. Shawamle could go beyond a peace plan to engage in serious bilateral talks with both countries. said.
Zun Ahmed Khan, a researcher at the China and Globalization Center in Beijing, said that while Xi has been “historically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, he has maintained a pragmatic relationship with Israel and is committed to expanding engagement.” He agreed that Mr. Xi should be able to do more.
Shawamre said that while the Palestinians strongly prefer Beijing to mediate negotiations, Israel receives $300 billion a year in US military and economic aid, making it difficult for China to become a peacemaker in Gaza. He hinted that the United States is a major obstacle for China to become peace mediator in Gaza because it will not allow it to become a peace mediator in Gaza. Muscular Washington moves away from the negotiating table.
This cynical analysis deliberately ignores the fact that Israel is fighting Hamas to avenge thousands of sadistic rapes and murders, and to stop thousands more, and therefore does not follow military lines. Changing this is not a matter of either Xi Jinping or President Joe Biden pulling the right strings.
China has also openly expressed support for Hamas terrorism. SCMP Officially noted:
On Thursday, the fourth day of hearings at the International Court of Justice, China expressed support for the Palestinians’ right to engage in “armed struggle” against Israel, stressing that it cannot be equated with terrorism. did.
“Pursuing the right to self-determination [the Palestinian people have the right to the] “We will use force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of a Palestinian state,” said Ma Xinmin, legal adviser to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
This comes after Israel claims that oppressed Uyghur Muslims have the right to wage “armed struggle” against the brutal Chinese regime, and then China brokers negotiations with the Uyghurs for Israel. It’s almost the same as what you’d expect. The Chinese wouldn’t do that, to say the least.
Another thing that Hamas apologists overlook about China’s position in the Middle East is that Beijing is trying very hard to cultivate influence with various regional powers, some of whom are Palestinians. It has a much more maximalist position on the issue than the Chinese government. If the Chinese actually claimed to be intermediaries, they would be forced to choose between being rejected by Israel or alienating long-loved hardline anti-Israel forces.
Rula Shaid, co-director of the Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy, said this point had been overlooked. SCMP China believed it could use its economic ties with Israel to gain political influence.
“For example, trade relations between China and Israel continue. Nothing has been stopped, there have been no calls for the Israeli ambassador to be summoned. There have been no mentions or even threats to cut ties.” Mr. Shade said, urging her on. SCMP Correspondent points to China did When we talked about stopping shipments to Israel last month, Israel immediately summoned the Chinese ambassador to complain.
China is unlikely to exercise economic influence on behalf of Hamas. That’s because Israel is serious about neutralizing threats to its security and knows that any attempt by China to bully or bribe them will only embarrass it. As seen in the comments above, China has already gone significantly further for the Palestinians. If you push it any further, your profits will drop significantly.
Vijay Prahasad, director of the Tricontinent Institute for Social Research, said Hamas allies like China have been unable to persuade the United Nations to declare a “no-fly zone” over Gaza or a “total arms embargo” on Israel. I’m confused,” he thought amusedly. Beijing is unlikely to undermine the trust it has carefully built by making such a delusional and futile proposal. Imagine a split screen as Hamas’ latest huge cache of illegal weapons is hauled out from under a school in Gaza, while China calls for an arms embargo on Israel.
China is Doing everything possible to tip the scales in Hamas’ favor, including defending Palestinian terrorism before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and portraying the October 7 rape and murder as a legitimate “act of resistance.” are doing. to foreign oppression. ” Hamas heartily praised the Chinese envoy’s remarks on Saturday.
of jerusalem post office saw The provocative speech before the ICJ was part of China’s “pivot” to the Palestinians, which sought to develop “warmer relations with Israel.”
israel government answered In short, they are telling the Chinese people to be ashamed of themselves for making such “regrettable remarks.”
“The laws of war do not permit systematic and premeditated attacks on civilians and the use of civilians as human shields, two of the war crimes that Hamas commits in the name of ‘armed struggle.'” The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out.
“At this point, China’s statements could be interpreted as support for the brutal terrorist attack committed by Hamas on October 7,” the Foreign Ministry added.
This heated exchange suggests that China has already lost any leverage it might have over Israel.
foreign policy was suggested In early February, it was revealed that at present China is primarily exploiting the Israel-Hamas conflict to increase political credibility with developing countries in the “Global South” that are not happy with the United States’ vigorous defense of Israel. He said that he was holding a pro-Palestinian show in order to do so. The last thing China wants is to become embroiled in security promises to the Palestinians. China wants to tease the US and use the situation to push developing countries further out of the US-European orbit.
“They feel that this will further weaken the United States in the eyes of the rest of the world, the regions of the world that they care about. This translates directly into their strategy toward China. “It just shows how isolated Americans are, how out of step with the world we are, and just shows the hypocrisy of Americans,” said Eric Ohlander of China Global. Told. South Project said so.
