China has voiced its objection to Israel’s commencement of major construction that would connect the large Jewish settlement of Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem.
The $1 billion E1 project, approved by the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, aims to build more than 3,000 housing units along with road and infrastructure upgrades.
The development will cut the West Bank from East Jerusalem, both located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which includes the Gaza Strip, where nearly 2 million people have been displaced.
“There will be no Palestinian state; this place belongs to us. We will safeguard our land and our security,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated at the signing of the expansion plan.
On Friday, the Chinese government pointed out the United Nations Security Council’s interpretation that the controversial project violates international law.
“China opposes Israel building settlements on the occupied territories of Palestine,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun affirmed at a press conference.
The official advised Israel to refrain from taking “inflammatory and escalatory actions,” emphasizing that the situation in Gaza is still fragile despite the truce just reached.
China wants a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza to be realized in the near future to ease the humanitarian crisis and diffuse the tensions in the region.
Jiakun further echoed the communist party’s resolution to uphold “the principle of the Palestinians governing Palestine” and promote the implementation of the two-state solution.
On Taiwan’s move to build a new air defense system (T-Dome), China warns that the Lai Ching-te authorities’ attempt to resist reunification through military buildup can provoke conflict.
According to Jiakun, Beijing is unequivocally opposed to “Taiwan independence,” as well as the United States’ “arms sales and military ties with China’s Taiwan region”.
