A Chinese envoy warned on Thursday against the consequences of Israel´s planned annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Zhang Jun, China´s permanent representative to the United Nations, said that China is concerned about the alleged Israeli plan to annex the occupied Palestinian territories, in violation of international law and relevant Security Council resolutions.
"We urge the parties concerned to refrain from taking any such unilateral steps," Zhang said at a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council.
In a briefing to the Security Council, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nikolai Mladenov, indicated that on Monday, two prominent political parties in Israel signed an alliance agreement to form a government and agreed to proceed with the annexation of parts of the West Bank as of July 1. .
Mladenov stated that the Palestinian Authority threatened to cancel the implementation of all bilateral agreements in the event of an annexation.
Zhang called on the parties to respond to the call by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire and to refrain from any unilateral actions that would exacerbate tensions.
Zhang said the parties concerned should stop all settlement activities and stop demolishing Palestinian homes and destroying Palestinian property, adding that measures should also be taken to prevent violence against civilians.
He noted that the top priority now is to strengthen preparedness and response to combat Covid-19.
He said that given the evident weakness of the Palestinians in the occupied territories under the disease, China encourages Israel and the Palestinian Authority to enhance cooperation in the areas of public health and security.
He urged the parties concerned to fulfill their obligations under international law to ensure the delivery of basic services and humanitarian aid to those in need, proposing the lifting of the blockade of Gaza, which impedes the response to the disease.
He stated that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) intensified its efforts to help Palestinian refugees to address this unprecedented health crisis, and gained international recognition, and called on the international community to continue to provide support to UNRWA´s work, including increased financial stability and stability.
Zhang said that relevant UN resolutions, the land-for-peace principle and the Arab Peace Initiative should be taken into account, and any new initiative should meet these basic international standards without exception, and the Security Council should work with the international community to advance the Middle East peace process.
He indicated that China maintains its principled positions on the Palestinian issue, and stands ready to help the Palestinian people in its fight against the disease, adding that the Chinese government and charitable institutions have provided urgent medical supplies to the Palestinian people and will continue to do so.
He said China remains committed to supporting the Palestinians to restore their legitimate national rights and the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
