A Chinese envoy said Thursday that an immediate cease-fire in Gaza is imperative and that the essence of any Security Council action is to achieve an immediate cease-fire.
The US veto of an Algerian-drafted resolution on Tuesday meant that the Security Council missed yet another opportunity to push for a cease-fire in Gaza. The continuation of the conflict even for another day would cause even more civilian casualties and lead to a greater catastrophe. An immediate cease-fire in Gaza is an urgent imperative to save innocent lives and to prevent a wider war, said Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
“An immediate cease-fire is the common wish voiced by the international community and the consensus of the Security Council’s overwhelming majority,” he told the Security Council.
China is aware that the United States has tabled its own draft resolution. China hopes that the United States will show a responsible attitude, respond positively to the international call, and respect the established consensus among Security Council members, said Zhang.
“We need to point out that the essence of any action of this council is to achieve an immediate cease-fire. Any message sent out via our action must be clear, unequivocal, unambiguous, and unmistakable, rather than prevaricate or beat about the bush,” he said. “At this point, the Council needs to demonstrate a strong resolve rather than negotiating skills only.”
The military offensive into Rafah must cease immediately, he said. Over 1.5 million Gazans are packed into Rafah, having nowhere else to go. Escalated Israeli military incursions into Rafah will result in unthinkable civilian casualties and humanitarian disasters and cause irreparable damage to regional peace. China strongly opposes such actions. Israel should immediately cancel its plans to attack Rafah and halt its collective punishment of the Palestinian people. The International Court of Justice’s order of provisional measures aimed at preventing genocide must be effectively implemented without delay, he said.
It is imperative to ensure sufficient unimpeded humanitarian deliveries into Gaza. Israel must take concrete action to open all land, sea, and air routes into Gaza, provide all that is required by humanitarian agencies for their relief operations, and ensure the safety and security of the staff and facilities of humanitarian agencies, he said.
Zhang also called for efforts to prevent the conflict in Gaza from spilling over to the wider region.—Xinhua
