UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — The Israeli leadership's rejection of the two-state solution is unacceptable, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun said on Tuesday.
The Chinese diplomat explained that the two-state solution is the only viable path to peace for Palestine and Israel and also a solemn prerequisite for the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions.
“We are seriously concerned by the statements made by Israeli leaders last week rejecting the two-state solution and denying Palestine the right to a state. This is unacceptable,” Zhang said at a high-level open debate in the Security Council.
He added that “any discussion of the post-war agreements for Gaza that deviates from the two-state solution is tantamount to building a house on quicksand,” he stressed.
The most important thing now is to stop the further erosion of the foundations of the two-state solution, which requires, above all, an end to Israel's forcible relocation of the Palestinian population in Gaza, an end to settlement expansion in the West Bank and an end to searches, arrests and Attacks against Palestinians, he said.
Zhang said China calls for intensifying diplomatic efforts to convene an international conference as soon as possible and launch meaningful multilateral processes to revive the political perspective for the two-state solution.
The creation of an independent Palestinian state must be an irreversible process. As a first step in this process, China supports Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations as soon as possible. In the current circumstances, the Security Council must send a clear and unequivocal signal and reiterate the urgency of the two-State solution as the only possible way out, he said.
He added that an immediate ceasefire should be the top priority for now.
He stressed that Israel should immediately change course and stop its indiscriminate military attacks and destruction of Gaza. All relevant parties in the international community should make diplomatic efforts to bring about an immediate ceasefire.
Zhang also called for efforts to remove obstacles to expanding humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
The Chinese representative considered that Security Council Resolutions 2712 and 2720 should be fully implemented and Israel should fully cooperate to this end. The Security Council should be prepared to take further measures to ensure safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, he stressed.