China on Thursday said it’s “deeply concerned” over the escalated conflicts in the West Bank after Israel launched a large-scale operation in the region overnight into Wednesday.
Hamas said 10 of its fighters were killed in different locations in the operation, and the Palestinian Health Ministry reported an 11th casualty, without saying whether he was a fighter or a civilian.
“China opposes actions fueling the tension, condemns all attacks against civilians and calls on all parties concerned, especially Israel, to exercise restraint and keep calm so as to prevent the situation from deteriorating,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Lin Jian said at a daily news briefing in Beijing when asked about the developments.
The U.N. secretary-general also called on Israel’s government to comply with its obligations under international law and take measures to protect civilians.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there.
Briefing reporters about the ruling Communist Party’s director of foreign affairs and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday, Lin quoted Wang as saying that equal treatment is the key to maintaining smooth exchanges between China and the U.S.
Sullivan has been Biden’s point person for often unannounced talks with the Communist Party’s top foreign policy official to try to manage the growing differences between Washington and Beijing.
The goal of his visit, which lasts through Thursday, is limited — to try to maintain communication in a relationship that broke down for the better part of a year in 2022-23 and was only nursed back over several months.
Concerned over Escalation in West Bank, says China world-news World News | Latest International News | Global World News | World News Today
