China opposed on Monday any unilateral moves that could escalate tensions between Palestine and Israel, calling Israel to act wisely preventing any further tensions in the region, according to the Middle East News Agency (MENA).
Commenting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told MENA that China has a consistent position on the Palestinian issue, asserting that any solution to subject should be based on the UN resolutions and international consensus, including the two-state solution and the land-for-peace principle.
Shuang said: “Any agreement should be reached through dialogue and negotiation on an equal footing,” considering the views of both conflicting sides “especially the Palestinian side, to facilitate a comprehensive, and sustainable settlement to the Palestinian issue.”
Carrying Palestinian flags, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Morocco and Tunisia on Sunday to protest against a new US plan which the Palestinians say favours Israel.
“Long live Palestine,” said the local politicians and trade unionists as they marched on the streets calling for a boycott of American products. They denounced the United States as “enemies of peace” and chanted, “Palestine is not for sale.”
Morocco’s demonstrators burned the Israeli flag and warned against any attempt by Morocco “to normalise” with Israel.
On Saturday, Netanyahu announced the commencement of mapping West Bank territories to annex, according to American President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
He said at a Likud campaign event in the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, that this move “won’t take a lot of time and we’ll complete this.”
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), an official Egyptian delegation arrived in Gaza on Monday to de-escalate tensions between Gaza and Israel, which after Monday’s bombardment of the sites in Gaza in response to the firing of rockets from the Strip. The delegation entered Gaza by way of the Erez crossing, several Palestinian news outlets reported.
US ambassador to Israel David Melech Friedman claimed earlier that the Trump administration had given permission for an immediate annexation, stating that “we will recognise it.” He warned Israel on Sunday against unilateral moves and not to declare sovereignty over the West Bank without Washington’s consent, which will escalate the already tense situation.
Friedman tweeted that “Israel is subject to the completion of a mapping process by a joint Israeli-American committee. Any unilateral action in advance of the completion of the committee process endangers the plan and American recognition.”
In a separate speech, he elaborated that his message was “a little bit of patience, to go through a process, to do it right, is not something which we think is too much to ask for”.
Trump’s peace plan, unveiled on 28 January, envisages Israel keeping key swathes of the occupied territory where Palestinians seek statehood, recognises Israeli rights to annex parts of the West Bank, and the entire Jordan Valley. The plan also allows Israel to retain control of the disputed city of Jerusalem as its “undivided capital.”
