Gaza ceasefire is a means not an end to decades of conflict
- A four-day cessation to hostilities, while welcome, is hardly the answer; as Chinese President Xi Jinping rightly said, a two-state solution is the only viable route to peace
Hamas and Israel have finally agreed to a mediated deal that will pause the military assault on Gaza and clear the way for a prisoner exchange. Images of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees freed under the deal will be superimposed on those of civilian death, destruction and suffering – temporarily.
The four-day ceasefire has cleared the way for their release, but no more.
Israel remains committed to obliterating Hamas from Gaza politically and militarily in retaliation for a surprise attack on October 7 that killed about 1,200 Israelis. The cost in innocent Palestinian – not Hamas – lives has long since been not even remotely proportional.
It is inhumane and indiscriminate on a scale rarely seen before. When the shooting and bombing resumes regardless, it will not be the first time mistrust and hatred have prevailed over compassion and wisdom, not to mention fears of a “forever war”, or one with no apparent end short of a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians live peacefully and securely side-by-side.
That involves acceptance of the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state.
The need for a two-state solution was the unambiguous message of President Xi Jinping’s first public comment on the conflict since it erupted nearly seven weeks ago, delivered at an online summit this week of the Brics group of nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Xi said Israel should stop imposing “collective punishment” on the people of Gaza and Hamas must release civilian hostages.
“China supports the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent state,” he said. “There can be no security in the Middle East without a just solution to the question of Palestine.”
Xi’s speech followed his summit with US President Joe Biden last week during which they discussed the Middle East conflict. The US has supported Israel but the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies are aligned on the need for a two-state solution.
The ceasefire will defuse the hostage/prisoner issue. It remains to be seen whether peacebrokers can expand the breakthrough.
Only two-state solution can bring real peace to Israel and Palestinians: China
In that regard, Xi’s remarks reflect China’s widening diplomatic influence in the region, highlighted by its brokering of a normalisation of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. China is now a credible alternative to the US as a big-power partner and has good relations with many Middle Eastern nations.
It may be a relatively new player in the region, but it is also not burdened with historical baggage. The regional peace process is uncharted territory for China, but it now calls for redoubled efforts from all concerned to avoid conflict that could embroil more of the region.
