By Le Shui
The UN Security Council voted on a US-drafted resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 25. China, Russia, and other countries voted against the US draft because it ignored the world's calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine and failed to attach importance to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Subsequently, the US representative unreasonably criticized China's veto and attempted to blame China for the deterioration of the Palestinian-Israeli situation. The Chinese representative clearly refuted the blame, pointing out that it contradicted the spirit of UN resolutions and disregarded the strong calls from Arab countries.
Recently, 48 countries including Jordan jointly submitted a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly, calling for an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire, the provision of essential goods and services to civilians in the Gaza Strip, and the protection of civilians and international agencies. The representative from Jordan believed that the conflict had caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, and all parties should uphold "human values and the Charter of the United Nations". Despite opposition from the US and other countries, it was ultimately adopted with an overwhelming majority of 120 votes in favor, which demonstrates that the ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and other proposals put forth in this draft enjoy the support of the majority of countries in the world. In contrast, the draft resolution proposed by the US confuses right and wrong, disregards human rights, goes against the resolution adopted by the UN, and can only exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe.
The new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which started on October 7, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and brought immense suffering to both sides. According to data released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, as of October 30, 8,525 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed by Israel's attacks, including 3,542 children and 2,187 women. On October 30, Israeli media reported that 1,538 people on the Israeli side died in the current round of clashes. The Palestinian-Israeli situation is currently deteriorating, and the establishment of humanitarian channels in the Gaza Strip and the immediate delivery of relief materials to local people have become the universal call of the international community. The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has significantly escalated due to Israel's massive ground offensive. It is reported that over 2 million Gazans are currently facing a "blockade" with shortages of water, medicine, and fuel, and approximately half of the population has been displaced. On October 31, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization warned of an imminent "public-health disaster" in the Gaza Strip due to overcrowding, mass displacement, and the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure.
The US can not evade responsibility for the current situation. In fact, it is precisely due to the obstruction and inaction of the US that the international community has struggled to carry out humanitarian relief for the people of Gaza. Since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the US has vetoed dozens of draft resolutions on the Middle East and Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the UN Security Council. The repeated obstruction by the US has prevented the UN from mediating the Palestinian-Israeli issue and wasted valuable time for humanitarian relief.
In terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the US, as a global power, has been continuously exacerbating the situation rather than fulfilling its duty in maintaining regional peace and stability. In the current circumstances, any mediation plan that does not prioritize ceasefire and humanitarian relief is evading serious matters and taking up trifles. However, the draft resolution submitted by the US to the UN implies a wrong logic of legitimizing confrontation between civilizations and the abuse of military power, and also harbors a dangerous tendency to perpetuate a vicious cycle of hatred between Palestinians and Israelis. Therefore, China has every reason to reject such a hypocritical draft based on conscience and justice.
Achieving lasting peace in the Middle East is the shared expectation of the international community. The fundamental solution to the Palestinian issue still lies in implementing the "two-state solution" and establishing an independent state of Palestine. Both the Palestinian and Israeli sides should exercise restraint, resume peace talks, and prevent a more severe humanitarian crisis.
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
