China to chair UN Security Council meeting on Middle East on November 29
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi plans to travel to New York this week to chair a UN Security Council meeting on the war between Israel and the radical Islamic group Hamas. "As China holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, it will hold a meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on November 29," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
Beijing hopes that the UN talks will lead to a "ceasefire and an end to the fighting" and "contribute to alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza", Wenbin added.
The UN Security Council has already met several times since the start of the war in the Middle East. In mid-November, the body passed a resolution calling for "extended humanitarian pauses" for the Gaza Strip. Previously, four proposed resolutions had failed.
In the past, China had spoken out in favor of the Palestinian side in particular and supports a two-state solution to the conflict. The country welcomed the four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into force on Friday and has so far led to the release of dozens of Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 100 freed Palestinian prisoners.
Hundreds of fighters from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, had invaded Israel on 7 October and committed unprecedented atrocities against civilians, including many women and children. According to Israeli reports, 1,200 people were killed and around 240 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip.
Israel then declared war on the Palestinian organization and launched massive air and ground attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, which cannot be independently verified, more than 15,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since then.
Source: www.ntv.de
