President,

I thank Algeria, Pakistan, and Somalia for their initiative to hold this meeting. I welcome the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, His Excellency Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan, and His Excellency Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the UAE President. I thank Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo for her briefing.

On September 9, Israel launched an attack on Doha, the capital of Qatar, in flagrant violation of Qatar’s territorial sovereignty and national security, international law and the UN Charter, and efforts to achieve peace. China resolutely opposes this and strongly condemns such an act.

It is well known that Qatar, as an important mediator in the ceasefire negotiations, has made great efforts to promote the ceasefire and restore peace in Gaza, which has been highly appreciated by the international community. We note that on September 7, the US put forward a new ceasefire proposal and claimed that Israel had agreed to it. However, just two days later, a Hamas delegation discussing the ceasefire proposal was attacked by Israel. Such an act of bad faith, irresponsibility, and deliberate sabotage of the negotiations is indeed despicable. China is deeply concerned that the attack could lead to further escalation of tensions in the region. We must point out that this incident is closely related to the long-standing differing positions of some non-regional countries regarding the Middle East issue. We would like to advise these major countries, in the interest of regional peace and stability, to take a fair and responsible stance and play a constructive role along with the international community in promoting a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities and in easing tensions in the region.

I would like to reiterate that military means and the indiscriminate use of force are not the way out of the problem, and that an immediate ceasefire is the right way to save lives and bring the hostages home. China strongly calls on all parties concerned, in particular Israel, to work harder to ease the fighting and resume negotiations, rather than the opposite. Israel must immediately cease all military operations in Gaza, fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law as the occupying power, fully restore humanitarian access, and support the relief operations of the UN and other humanitarian agencies.

President, 

The Gaza conflict has been going on for almost two years, resulting in a humanitarian catastrophe that is appalling and unprecedented in nature. During this period, we have witnessed over and over again the violation of international law and the undermining of the basic norms of international relations. The world should not return to the law of the jungle, and the Middle East should not remain in a state of perpetual war.

As the primary organ for the maintenance of international peace and security, the Security Council has the responsibility to safeguard international order and the rule of law and to promote regional peace and stability. The Council is now discussing a draft resolution on the humanitarian issue of Gaza. China supports the Council’s immediate actions to end the fighting in Gaza and to ease the humanitarian catastrophe, and we call on Council members and the international community to make joint efforts to this end.

Thank you, President.