Tag: Middle East

Q&A: Israel’s Ambassador Says China’s Online Antisemitism Part of Global Phenomenon

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TAIPEI, Taiwan —  China has sympathized with the Palestinian cause since Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong sent weapons to Palestinians in support of their liberation movement against Israel. Since then, China and Israel have developed a multibillion-dollar trading relationship with a free trade agreement under discussion. But after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, anti-Israel and antisemitic comments have flooded China’s tightly controlled internet and the online accounts of Israel’s embassy in Beijing. And in his speech at a virtual summit on the Israel-Hamas war by the…

China’s Top Diplomat to Visit UN For Israel-Hamas Talks

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Beijing, China —  China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will visit New York this week to hold a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Beijing’s foreign ministry said Monday. “As it holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council this month, China will hold a high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on November 29,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. Wang Yi will preside over the meeting, he added. FILE – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, listens during a bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington,…

US Dismisses Chinese Diplomacy on Gaza

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The White House is dismissing China’s recent diplomatic engagement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, part of Beijing’s attempt to position itself as a more credible peacemaker in the Middle East than the U.S. “We’re comfortable with our relationships. We’re comfortable with American leadership in the region. We’re comfortable that we have the ability to work through partners in the region to achieve outcomes and results that are beneficial to all of us,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with VOA Wednesday. Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi has…

Arab Muslim Delegation in Beijing Calls for Immediate Gaza Cease-Fire

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Arab and Muslim officials holding meetings with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing on Monday called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and for allowing humanitarian aid into the war-shattered Palestinian enclave. A delegation of ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, the Palestinian Authority and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, among others, visited Beijing on the first leg of a tour in world capitals urging an end to the hostilities in Gaza. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the foreign diplomats that their decision to start in Beijing…

Iran and Saudi Arabia Demand Gaza Cease-Fire

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After the Saudi and Iranian leaders finished their speeches, they left the main conference hall for a bilateral meeting. Prince Mohammed’s welcoming of Mr. Raisi amounted to a remarkable departure for the Saudi leader, who once bluntly warned Iran not to pursue expansionist policies in the region. “We won’t wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia,” he said in a televised interview in 2017. “Instead, we will work so that the battle is for them in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia.” He also once likened Iran’s supreme leader,…

US Viewed as Isolated in Diplomatic Fallout of Gaza War

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As Israel’s relentless bombing campaign over Gaza extends into its second month, several countries have recalled their diplomats from Tel Aviv over accusations of egregious war crimes. “A genocide under the watch of the international community cannot be tolerated,” Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, minister in the presidency of South Africa, told reporters on Monday. Turkey, Chad, Jordan, Bolivia, Chile, Bahrain, Honduras, Colombia and South Africa have recalled their diplomats from Israel in protest of the high number of deaths and the amount of destruction resulting from the Israeli bombardment. The bombings have…

Antisemitism Surges in China Online and in State Media

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Hu Xijin, an influential commentator and a former editor in chief of Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper, responded to hawkish statements from an Israeli minister directed at Hezbollah, the powerful militia in Lebanon, writing on Chinese social media: “Oh, calm down, Israel. I’m worried you’ll wipe the Earth out of the solar system.” At times, the anti-Israel comments took on a nationalist tone. In a widely viewed post, an influencer with 2.9 million followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo said that he would opt to call Hamas…

Russia, China Veto US Push for UN Action on Israel, Gaza

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UNITED NATIONS —  Russia and China on Wednesday vetoed a U.S. push for the United Nations Security Council to act on the Israel-Hamas conflict by calling for pauses in fighting to allow humanitarian aid access, the protection of civilians and a stop to arming Hamas and other militants in the Gaza Strip. The United States put forward a draft resolution on Saturday as global outcry grew over a worsening humanitarian crisis and mounting civilian death toll in Gaza. It made the move just days after it vetoed a humanitarian-focused draft…

Biden and Albanese Say the U.S. and Australia Stand Together With Israel

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President Biden and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia expressed their shared condemnation of the Hamas attack this month on Israeli civilians and soldiers, saying during a state visit on Wednesday that they would stand with Israel. In a visit laden with ceremony, military pomp and personal references, the two leaders made every effort to show that the United States-Australia alliance was about more than just the military might of two countries that also cooperate on issues including artificial intelligence and the development of critical minerals. But, given their close…

China, US Differ on Response to Widening Middle East Violence

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WASHINGTON —  China will continue to support “all efforts conducive to promoting dialogue” for the two-state solution amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. In the regular foreign ministry press briefing on Oct. 23, spokesperson Mao Ning, said, “As we speak, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is escalating, the situation in Gaza is very grave and armed conflict is spreading with a growing spillover effect.” “All parties should abide by the international law and international humanitarian law, protect civilians and do everything possible to avert…