ugc_banner

China calls for UN council action, slams US over fighting between Israel, Gaza

WION Web Team
Beijing Updated: May 16, 2021, 01:55 PM IST
main img
As China was never completely colonised, it continued to be ruled by its monarchs until Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) after the Chinese Revolution of 1949. It celebrates National Day and not Independence Day. Photograph:(Others)

Story highlights

"Regrettably, the council has so far failed to reach an agreement, with the United States standing on the opposite side of international justice," the state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang as saying in a phone conversation on Saturday with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on the UN Security Council to seek an early de-escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers. He also blamed the US for the council's lack of action so far. 

"Regrettably, the council has so far failed to reach an agreement, with the United States standing on the opposite side of international justice," the state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang as saying in a phone conversation on Saturday with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. 

He expressed support for a two-state solution, and said China, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, expects all parties to speak with a unified voice when the council discusses the conflict later on Sunday. 

Wang said the Security Council should reconfirm a two-state solution and urge Palestinians and Israelis to resume talks on that basis as soon as possible.  

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has called for foreign ministers of the world's largest body of Muslim nations to hold a meeting on Sunday.

The gathering is to discuss Israeli acts of violence against Palestinians and the Israeli police's use of force against protesters at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

The kingdom will host the virtual summit, gathering ministers of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territory, particularly acts of violence in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the body said on Saturday.

The Saudi-headquartered OIC includes countries Iran, Turkey, Indonesia and a range of Muslim majority nations.

The sanctity of Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, is a sensitive and emotive issue for Muslims around the world. The OIC was formed 51 years ago in response to a Jewish extremist arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem.

The hilltop on which the mosque stands is also sacred to Jews, who revere it as the Temple Mount because it was the site of the biblical temples.

Some Jews and evangelical Christians support building a new Jewish temple on the site, an idea that Muslims find alarming because they fear it would lead to the mosque being partitioned or demolished. 

(With inputs from agencies)