China's Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun has a group meeting with diplomatic envoys in China of Arab countries upon request on April 7, 2023. Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry

As the international community closely watches the latest developments in the Middle East after Israel bombed the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in retaliation for several dozen rockets fired from both territories, China on Friday urged all parties, especially Israel, to observe restraint and avoid taking any actions that could further aggravate the tense situation, and also called on influential countries to take due responsibility. 

It is a pity to see the Israel-Palestine situation deteriorating while many regional countries are working to embrace a trend of reconciliation, analysts said, noting that China's proposals on global security, which has yielded results in promoting regional peace, will continue to play a constructive role. 

On Friday, Israel's military launched air attacks on southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in response to a spate of rocket attacks in Israel. The escalation in tensions comes after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on successive days, triggering violent confrontations with Palestinians inside and causing anger across the region, media reported.

After the latest round of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli forces continued to break up Palestinian worshippers who wanted to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque, while a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank killed two Israeli women. 

Passover and Ramadan both fall in April this year. More people are worried that the latest clashes could ignite a powder keg in the region and block the road to peace and stability. 

Fire and smoke are seen following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on April 7, 2023. Israel on Friday intensified airstrikes on military posts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, in response to rockets fired from the areas at several parts in Israel, escalating tensions with Palestine over the past three days after Israeli police forcibly expelled Palestinian worshippers from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. Photo:Xinhua

On Friday morning, China's Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun had a group meeting with diplomatic envoys of Arab countries upon request, during which he urged all sides to act in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, and earnestly respect and maintain the historical status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

The Chinese envoy noted that the fundamental way to resolve the conflict between Palestine and Israel is the implementation of the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine. The international community needs to act with a stronger sense of urgency, heed the legitimate concerns of Palestine and take real steps to fulfill the pledge to the Palestinian people, he said.

China has actively responded to the call of regional states and asked the UN Security Council to hold emergency consultations on the Israel-Palestine situation together with countries including the UAE, and make active efforts for de-escalation. China has also been in close communication with the relevant parties in the international community to facilitate peace talks, said Zhai.

The current escalation took place against the backdrop of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and right-wing forces in Israel pushing for tougher policies toward Palestine. Also, the US' partiality toward Israel leads to an imbalance between Israel and Palestine, making it harder to mediate the conflict, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Friday.

While the trend toward reconciliation has been advanced among Gulf countries in the Middle East, it is a pity to see there are no signs of improvement in the Israel-Palestine issue, with the situation in some areas getting even worse, Sun said.

The international community, including China, has called for the parties concerned to discuss the issue on multilateral platforms. On Wednesday, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland appealed for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to exercise restraint following the latest violence.  

Sun noted that the current predicament for Israel and Palestine highlighted the fact that traditional views on security are at a dead end and related countries should get rid of their zero-sum mentality. One country should not defend its security by violating another country's security, he added.

China's proposal and role on promoting a solution to the Israel-Palestine issue is important, as it has never picked sides nor sought to fill a vacuum of any country in the region or cultivate a proxy, which is why China was able to successfully mediate the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, said Sun.

Saudi Arabia and Iran announced the resumption of diplomatic ties in Beijing after the first formal meeting between the two countries' top diplomats in more than seven years.

China's remarkable mediation between the two countries over the past month showed that its diplomatic philosophy and Chinese proposals on global security and heated issues have gained more recognition worldwide, observers said.

Sun said that the reconciliation trend in the Middle East is precious and fragile at the same time, which needs all parties and the international community to work in the same direction. As China's proposal on global security has seen results in the Gulf region, it will continue to play an active role in promoting negotiations on regional issues, including the Israel-Palestine issue, Sun added.