BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israel and Hamas should
agree to a ceasefire immediately and mitigate the humanitarian crisis, Sun
Bigan, China's special envoy on the Middle East issue, told reporters Thursday.
Voicing deep concern over ongoing turbulence in the
region, Sun said achieving an immediate ceasefire was urgent. Israel should stop
military operations in Gaza immediately and Hamas should stop firing rockets at
Israel.
"If the two sides cease fire, the situation will not
deteriorate, more lives will not be harmed and the necessary conditions for a
political solution can be created," Sun said.
He also suggested that on the basis of a ceasefire
and humanitarian crisis mitigation, all sides should find ways to achieve a
durable ceasefire, supervisory mechanism and humanitarian aid, so as to create a
sustainable and stable situation.
Since Israel launched large-scale military operations
on Dec. 27, the conflict in the Gaza Strip has resulted in heavy casualties and
material losses, especially the death of civilians.
About 700 people have been killed and some 3,000
others wounded in Gaza during the 13-day conflict and the death toll is expected
to rise. Ten Israelis have been killed so far, including six soldiers.
"China is deeply concerned over the intense situation
and turbulence in the region, as well as the humanitarian crisis. China regrets
the heavy civilian casualties and strongly condemns the acts that lead to such a
situation," Sun said.
"As China's special envoy to the region, I have paid
close attention to the situation and communicated with all relevant sides. It is
extremely urgent to stop the military operations and conflicts to prevent
civilian casualties," he said.
Sun urged the international community and relevant
sides to strengthen coordination and establish stable channels to provide
humanitarian assistance to Gaza as soon as possible.
He also urged the parties involved to heed the
appeals of the international community and make acceptable arrangements on
border security, open crossings to Gaza, end blockades and achieve a durable
ceasefire, in a bid to stabilize the situation.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting but
failed to reach an accord.
After talks with visiting French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Moubarak on Tuesday announced a
proposal for an immediate truce in Gaza, which called for the opening of safe
corridors for relief supplies into Gaza, and invited Israelis and Palestinians
to meet urgently to discuss the prevention of a resumption of violence.
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said Israel could accept
the offer if it would stop "hostile fire" from Gaza. Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas also expressed his support for the plan. Osama Hamdan, a
Hamas representative in Lebanon, said the organization is considering the
proposal.
"China welcomes the Egyptian proposal, and the
international community should attach importance to it," said Foreign Ministry
spokesman Qin Gang told a regular press conference here Thursday.
Qin added China will work with the international
community to end the conflict as soon as possible, restart the dialogue and
promote the peace process in the Middle East, so as to find a proper and durable
solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Sun said Chinese leaders exchanged views with
relevant sides over the situation. China also conducted close contact and
consultation with other parties in the UN Security Council.
On Dec. 30. China offered 1 million U.S. dollars in
emergency humanitarian aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and it
was considering other assistance
The special envoy also called for an early resumption
of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, in a bid to pursue a just, proper and
lasting solution to the Middle East issue.
"The Gaza conflict proves again that military means
are not the way out for resolving Palestinian-Israeli disputes. Military force
could only bring more hostility and enmity, without giving either side absolute
safety," he said.
Sun said international society and relevant parties,
when endeavoring to ease the tense situation, should also consider carrying out
feasible actions to accelerate the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, to establish
an independent Palestinian state at an early date, and to realize peaceful
coexistence.
This would help prevent a repeat of the Gaza
conflict, he noted.
Zhang Yesui, Chinese Permanent
Representative to the United Nations, attends the meeting on Gaza crisis
held by Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, the United
States, Jan. 6, 2009.(Xinhua/Hou Jun)Photo
Gallery>>>
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday
called on the UN Security Council to take swift action to push for an immediate
ceasefire in Gaza.
China's UN Ambassador Zhang Yesui made the appeal at
a high-level meeting of the Security Council on the Gaza crisis. Full story
BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The international
community has over the past two days continued to condemn Israel's ground
invasion of the Gaza Strip following days of intensive airstrikes, calling for
an immediate ceasefire in the volatile region.
South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon
Tae-young said Monday his country would offer 300,000-U.S. dollars worth of
humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip. Full story
