China must take a more active role in encouraging negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, offering to host officials on both sides for a summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Saudi Arabia’s news network. Arabiya on Wednesday.
Wang said China would move forward with a five-point plan to achieve “regional peace and stability in the Middle East”.
As part of the initiative, Wang also told al-Arabiya that China plans to invite “notable” Israelis and Palestinians to meet in Beijing.
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China has hosted Israeli-Palestinian delegations in the past, with a trilateral meeting in 2017, including officials from the Palestinian Authority and the then vice president of the Israeli Knesset, Hilik Bar.
Beijing proposed a four-point Israeli-Palestinian peace plan in 2013, which included the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah inspect an honor guard in the West Bank city of Ramallah on October 23, 2018. (Flash90)
In 2018, during a four-day state visit to Israel, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan visited the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who asked for greater involvement. Chinese in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Hamdallah told Wang that Israel and the United States had severely damaged the peace negotiations and the two states’ solution, pointing to the building of settlements in the West Bank and measures by the Trump administration, such as the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Noting that China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Hamdallah told Wang that Beijing should take an active role in the peace process and support the call for AP President Mahmoud Abbas to an international conference on the subject. . He also said that China should put pressure on Israel over alleged violations of international law.
Although a member of the Security Council, China has historically played a minor role in peace negotiations, which have been conducted largely by the United States. He is not a member of the Middle East Quartet, which includes countries and international organizations involved in mediating the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
The Times of Israel team contributed to this report.
