On May 28, 2024, Professor Liu Zhongmin at Shanghai International Studies University's Middle East Studies Institute gave an interview to Global Times on Israel's attack on Rafah (see Global Times, May 29, 2024, pp. 1-2), which is reproduced below:
Israel urged to end attack amid intl outcry over Rafah strike
China is seriously concerned about Israel's attack on Rafah and strongly urges Israel to listen to the international community's calls and stop the attacks, a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said after an Israeli attack on a Rafah tent camp stirred another wave of international condemnation and rage. Chinese experts said Palestine's plight is laid bare by the latest attack from Israel, and such exposure may lead to more international support in the near future.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is expected to be discussed by foreign ministers from China and Arab countries during the upcoming ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing. Experts predicted that thanks to the high degree of trust from Arab countries toward China, China and these Arab countries will likely form a common proposal regarding the Palestine issue that can be promoted in the UN, to help promote cease-fire and alleviate the humanitarian disaster.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a tragic mistake was made in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that set fire to a camp housing displaced Palestinians and, according to local officials, killed at least 45 people.
There was another strike by Israel on Tuesday and it also caused civilian casualties in Rafah. The Xinhua News Agency reported that at least 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured on Tuesday in an Israeli bombardment of displaced persons' tents in the Al-Mawasi area in the west of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian security and medical sources.
China expresses serious concern over Israel's military operation in Rafah, Mao Ning, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Tuesday.
Mao pointed out that the UN International Court of Justice has for the third time delivered the order for provisional measures on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and for the first time explicitly asked for ceasing the military offensive in relevant region. This reflects the world's consensus on and strong call for an urgent cease-fire, protection of civilians and deescalation of the humanitarian crisis. Relevant provisional measures should be effectively implemented as soon as possible.
China opposes any action that violates international law, including international humanitarian law and asks all parties to protect civilians and civilian facilities, and strongly urges Israel to heed the call of the international community and stop the offensive on Rafah. The world needs to work together to deescalate and end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Mao said.
The strike only added to the surging international criticism Israel has faced over its conflict with Hamas. There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres posted on social media.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths pointed to the widespread warnings of civilian deaths that circulated ahead of Israel's incursion into Rafah, saying in a statement: We've seen the consequences in last night's utterly unacceptable attack, AFP reported.
The European Union's foreign policy chief said he was horrified by news of the strike, while French President Emmanuel Macron said he was outraged, and a United States National Security Council spokesperson said Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians, media reported.
Call for ending attacks
Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday, despite an angry reaction from Israel following their announcement of the decision last week. The three European countries' move has been hailed by Chinese experts as representing an overdue correction of a previously skewed balance, while bringing the Palestinian question, which had intentionally been obscured before, back to the center stage.
Palestine's plight was laid bare by the latest round of conflicts with Israel, mainly due to Israel's attack on Rafah, Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Zhu noted that such exposure of Palestine's suffering will likely lead to more international support for Palestine in the near future.
Israel is currently not only becoming increasingly isolated diplomatically, but also facing more and more consequences. This trend indicates that the moral and legal standards of the international community on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are becoming clearer, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
Liu said in the recent round of conflict between Israel and Palestine, especially the military actions in Rafah, a greater humanitarian disaster is looming. In this situation, the international community's support and attitudes toward Palestine and condemnation against Israel's actions are becoming increasingly clear.
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Reuters reported.
Against international trend, the Biden administration, however, is still assessing whether an Israeli strike that killed at least 45 displaced Palestinians at the tent camp in Rafah on Sunday is a violation of President Biden's red line, Axios reported on Mondy, citing two US officials.
As the world's largest superpower and leader of the Western camp, the US opposition to the elevation of Palestine's status and biased attitude on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will discount the effectiveness of other countries' effort of promoting two-State solution, Tian Wenlin, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.
However, divergencies between Europe and the US on the Middle East issue are increasing, and even gradually drifting apart. The US continued support for Israel will eventually bind Washington together with Israel to bear the increasing international pressure, said Tian.
Joint efforts
From Tuesday to Saturday, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Tunisia's President Kais Saied, and the United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will pay state visits to China and attend the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and foreign ministers from those Arab countries will continue to discuss the Palestine issue in depth, forming a common voice at the conference, Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li told a press briefing about the conference on Monday.
Deng said the goal is to end the Gaza conflict as soon as possible, achieve peace, and promote the international community to implement the two-State solution with greater determination and concrete actions, ultimately achieving long-term stability in the Middle East.
Currently, all parties within Palestine and Arab countries have high degree of trust toward China, Zhu Weilie, the director of the Middle East Studies Institute of the Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times. During this conference, China and the Arab countries will seek to reach a basic consensus, and then form a common proposal regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that can be promoted in the UN Security Council.
In light of the recent conflict, especially Israel's attack on Rafah, China and these Arab countries will both adhere to some traditional positions on the Palestine issue at this conference; and also propose specific new initiatives, especially regarding the current conflict, such as cease-fire, humanitarian assistance, to prevent a bigger humanitarian disaster, said Zhu.
Source: Global Times
(The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author or the interviewee, and do not represent the position of this research institution)
