China on Friday called on the Israelis and Palestinians to exercise
the maximum restraint by stopping all forms of violence and
returning to the negotiation table to move forward the peace
momentum in the Middle East region.
Taking floor at an open debate of the United Nations Security
Council, ambassador Wang Yingfan condemned both the suicide
bombings against Israeli civilians and the barbarian Israeli
aggression against the Palestinian Authority.
The violent action by a small number of people runs counter to
peace aspirations of the Palestinian people while the massive
military offensive by Israel against Palestinians is not different
from a declaration of war against Palestine as some commentaries
put it, said Wang Yingfan, China's permanent representative to the
UN.
He
called on Israel to immediately cease military action and withdraw
from the occupied Palestinian territories.
The principle of land for peace and relevant Security Council
resolutions should be observed and Palestine and Israel should live
side by side in peace, Wang noted.
Wang joined two dozen speakers from council members and Arab
countries. The council session was called at the request of the
Arab League in response to the worsening situation in the Middle
East.
Israeli tanks rolled into the West Bank city of Ramallah early
Friday and Israeli soldiers took control of most of the compound of
Palestinian leader Yasser Afarat, killing five Palestinians and
injuring more than 40 others.
The Israeli incursion came after the Israeli cabinet decided Friday
to launch massive military operations against the Palestinians in
retaliation for a suicide bombing in the northern Israeli seaside
town of Netanya Wednesday, in which 21 people were killed.
A
draft resolution put before the council by the Arab League called
for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of
Israeli troops from Palestinian cities including Ramallah, but it
seems that there is little chance for its passage at the session,
according to a UN spokesman.
(People's
Daily March 30, 2002)