China rejects UN resolution over lack of call for cease-fire

China on Wednesday voted against a United Nations Security Council resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying that it was "introduced in haste" and does not address the crucial issue of a cease-fire.

The draft resolution "does not reflect the world's strongest calls for a cease-fire and an end to the fighting", said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN.

The latest resolution drafted by the United States condemned Hamas, expressed support for Israel and called for the release of all hostages.

Russia and the United Arab Emirates also voted against the resolution.

Zhang said: "China is by no means opposing the council taking actions. On the contrary, we have always strongly called for the council to play a responsible role.

"What we oppose is that the draft resolution is evasive on the most urgent issue of ending the hostility. It has never been able to call for an immediate cease-fire in clear and unambiguous terms," he said.

"At this moment, cease-fire is not just a diplomatic term; it means the life and death of many civilians. If a council resolution is ambiguous on the question of war and peace and of life and death, it is not only irresponsible, but also extremely dangerous," Zhang said.

"It is tantamount to paving the way for large-scale military actions and giving the green light to further escalation of war," he said.

The ambassador mentioned that on Oct 18, a draft resolution focusing on the humanitarian situation of the conflict and emphasizing the protection of civilians, which was supported by an overwhelming majority of council members, was vetoed by the US. A draft resolution proposed by Russia on Oct 16 also was vetoed.

On Saturday evening, the US introduced the new draft resolution "that set aside the consensus of the members, included many elements that were still deeply divisive, and went far beyond the humanitarian realm", Zhang said.

Several Security Council members, including China, Russia, the UAE and Brazil proposed amendments to the text.

"However, the sponsor, ignoring the major concerns of relevant members, made only cosmetic changes to the draft" before the text was rushed to a vote, Zhang said.

"China is by no means indifferent to acts that harm civilians. On the contrary, we strongly condemned at the first opportunity all violence and attacks against civilians and called for diplomatic efforts to promote the early release of hostages," he said.

"What we oppose is that the draft resolution does not call on the parties concerned to stop the indiscriminate and asymmetrical use of force, nor does it call for a thorough investigation into the heinous attacks such as the one on the Al-Ahli Hospital," he said. "Such selective application of international law and double standards will only push more innocent civilians to the brink of death."

Zhang said that the draft resolution "selectively avoids referring to the root causes of the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza and fails to urge Israel to lift its full siege on Gaza and to rescind the evacuation order for northern Gaza".

"Such an evasive and ineffectual approach will only accelerate Gaza's falling into an even greater humanitarian catastrophe," he said.

"China is by no means denying Israel's security concerns. On the contrary, we have always strongly advocated that equal attention should be paid to the security concerns and legitimate rights of both Israel and Palestine," Zhang said.

"What we oppose is that the draft resolution attempts to establish a new narrative on the Palestinian question, ignoring the fact that the Palestinian territory has been occupied for a long time, and evading the fundamental issue of independent statehood for the Palestinian people," he said.

Zhang said that the draft "departs from the spirit of previous UN resolutions and embeds the dangerous logic of clash of civilizations and the justification of war and use of force".

"If adopted, it will completely dash the prospect of the two-state solution and plunge the Palestinian and Israeli peoples into a vicious cycle of hatred and confrontation," he said.