BEIJING, Oct 22: Chinese Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun has called on the United Nations to urgently convene a more influential and larger-scale conference than the Cairo Summit for Peace to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
On Saturday, the Cairo Summit for Peace took place in the Egyptian capital with the participation of over 30 states, including China, and a series of international organizations. The meeting ended without a joint statement.
“The United Nations should facilitate the early convening of a more authoritative, more influential and larger-scale international peace conference,” Zhai was quoted as saying by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
He also said that the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had once again proved that the Palestinian issue could not be ignored or forgotten. The envoy expressed certainty that the two-state solution, meaning the creation of an independent Palestinian state, could be a way out of the conflict.
On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides. (UNI)