中文
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday stressed the importance of achieving Israeli-Palestinian common security.
The current situation has, once again, highlighted the importance of achieving common security for Palestinians and Israelis, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.
The recent period has seen the continued volatile security situation in the occupied territory. Search-and-arrest operations carried out by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank have resulted in a large number of Palestinian casualties. At the same time, Israelis have been killed in attacks. The escalating violence has given rise to fear and hatred, intensified conflict and turmoil, and may push the situation out of control. This development is deeply unsettling for China, he told the Security Council.
"Israel and Palestine are and will remain each other's neighbor with interdependent and indivisible security. We call on parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from any unilateral action that may lead to miscalculation or escalation of tensions, and make every effort to reverse the negative trend on the ground, and to de-escalate the situation as soon as possible," said Geng.
The occupying power should earnestly fulfill its obligations under international law to protect civilians in the occupied territory. The international community should attach equal importance to the security concerns of both Palestinians and Israelis and encourage both sides to find the greatest common denominator through dialogue and cooperation to achieve common security, he said.
The current situation, once again, highlights the need to implement international consensus, said Geng.
The continued expansion of settlement activities, which encroaches on Palestinian land, expropriates Palestinian resources, and violates the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, is making a contiguous, independent and sovereign Palestinian state even more elusive. China calls on Israel to cease all settlement activities and create conditions for the development of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, as called for in Security Council Resolution 2334, he said.
The current situation has, once again, highlighted the urgency of advancing the two-state solution, he said.
The Palestinian question remains unresolved for 70-plus years. The flare-ups of violent conflicts, the deteriorating humanitarian situation and spreading hopelessness are a constant reminder that the status quo in the occupied Palestinian territory is unsustainable. The international community cannot replace a comprehensive and just solution with piecemeal crisis management, nor can it make up for what is overdue on political and security fronts with limited economic and humanitarian measures, said Geng.
The international community should facilitate the resumption of peace talks between the two sides as soon as possible, steer the Middle East peace process back on track, and seek a long-term settlement on the basis of the two-state solution. In this regard, the Security Council is duty-bound to take active and robust actions to support the Palestinian people in restoring and exercising their inalienable rights and to live up to the expectations of generations of Palestinians of fairness and justice, he said.
Intra-Palestinian reconciliation is crucial to the cause of independent Palestinian statehood. China welcomes the internal reconciliation agreement reached by the Palestinian political factions in Algiers this month and commends the positive role played by Algeria. China believes that the agreement will be conducive to enhancing intra-Palestinian unity and promoting peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis, he said.
Geng reiterated China's support for the establishment of an independent state of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and for the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel, and the common development of the Arab and Jewish peoples. China, he said, will continue to work with the international community to make relentless efforts for a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian question.
