LAST week, Beijing called for an international peace conference to end the Israel-Hamas war following talks with Arab heads of State in Chinese capital–Beijing. President Xi reiterated Chinese support –for a two-state solution that would see the establishment of a formal Palestinian State—manifests China’s growing efforts to engage in Middle Eastern diplomacy. Addressing Arab leaders at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing, Xi said Israel’s war on Gaza “should not continue indefinitely” and “justice should not be absent forever”. Amid this Chinese peace initiative, US President Biden announced Gaza-ceasefire proposal.
China’s peace diplomacy: It goes without saying that China has an emerging role towards global peace and prosperity. Contextually, China’s proactive engagement is evidenced by its multifaceted diplomatic initiatives, including its twelve-point peace proposal for the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its instrumental role in facilitating the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
In a positive development, Chinese and Arab-nation ministers adopted a strident joint statement condemning Israel’s “aggression against the Palestinian people” and in Rafah, according to the document as published by Chinese state media last Friday.: In Thursday’s joint statement, China and its Arab-nation counterparts also called for the “end of the occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine” and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state
Needless to say, China has repeatedly called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as an immediate ceasefire and Palestinian membership in the UN – positions which align closely with those of Arab nations. Beijing is increasingly flexing its diplomatic influence in the region, hosting the first talks on Chinese soil between feuding Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in April. Meanwhile, the ongoing strife between Israel and Palestine continues to exact a heavy toll on civilian lives, particularly in the besieged enclave of Gaza. With over 36,000 fatalities and tens of thousands injured, the conflict has inflicted immeasurable suffering on the population, representing a significant loss of life in proportion to Gaza’s pre-war population.
Biden peace plan: “Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and work to make it real. It’s time for this war to end,” US President Biden said during a surprise address at the White House on Friday. Biden said that Israel had proposed a deal involving an initial six-week ceasefire with a partial Israeli military withdrawal and the release of some hostages while “a permanent end to hostilities” is negotiated through mediators, thereby arguing that previously the deal talks– initiated by the US, Egypt and Qatar— seeking for months to mediate an end to the war—remained elusive. The Biden ceasefire plan consists of three phases.
Accordingly, phase one involves an exchange of wounded, elderly and female hostages for Palestinian detainees during a six-week ceasefire, the same basic plan that collapsed at talks in Cairo just under a month ago after months of haggling. Biden plan’s first phase would start with six weeks of a full and complete cease-fire, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza, and the release of women and children being held hostage, Biden said during the surprise announcement. This initial stage would also include a surge of humanitarian assistance, with 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every day.
The second phase will involve the complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, lasting another six weeks. In return, Hamas will release “all remaining living hostages”. This includes male Israeli soldiers. Providing both sides stick to the terms of the agreement, this will lead the “cessation of hostilities permanently,” according to Biden quoting the Israeli proposal. Phase 3 entails– a reconstruction and stabilization plan for Gaza, supported by the US and international community–centering on the rebuilding of residential areas, schools and hospitals. President Biden also ensures that the US would work with regional partners to ensure it happens in a way that “does not allow Hamas to rearm.”This phase will last 3-5 years.
Response of the global powers: Leaders of the G-7 nations on Monday said they “fully endorse” a proposal recently outlined by US President Joe Biden to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip that would lead to an immediate cease-fire. “We reaffirm our support for a credible pathway towards peace leading to a two State solution,” the G7 leaders said in a joint statement on the agreement, which it said also includes “the release of all hostages, a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance for distribution throughout Gaza, and an enduring end to the crisis, with Israel’s security interests and Gazan civilian safety assured.”
Notably, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrel have backed Biden’s ceasefire plan. Moreover, now Washington wants that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) must adopt a resolution backing the proposal – urging both sides, Israel and Hamas – to end fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Dennis Ross, the former U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, said on MSNBC that Netanyahu and his entire War Cabinet had accepted the cease-fire proposal Biden prescribed. The said proposal seems balanced and realistic as it covers the interests of all the stakeholders of the conflict. Despite Israeli tacit consent of the Biden’s revealed proposal, apparently some officials of the Israeli government, including Israeli premier Netanyahu and his defense minister Gallant are trying to show indifference over this proposal whereas the truth posits that without Israeli approval, the said proposal would have ceased to exist.
It goes without saying that the pressure is mounting on both the US and Israeli Administrations to end the war in the Gaza Strip. This growing moral and legal pressure has been galvanized by the rising voices in the global civil society, including the human rights activists, the academics, diplomats and the jurists.
—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR, Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of International Law. He deals with the strategic and nuclear issues.
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