China supports Palestinian statehood

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ three-day visit to China which began on Wednesday marked an interesting turn as Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed support for Palestinian statehood clearly and loudly. And he also specified that an independent Palestinian state has to be “based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He reiterated, “We are friends and partners. We have always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights.” This is an unequivocal expression of support for the Palestinian cause. Coming as it does from Xi, it sends out a clear message to Israel, the United States and others that China knows where it stands on the issue and it is not afraid of stating its position.

The diplomatic speculation is that China is keen to play a greater role in the Middle Eastern affairs after Beijing had brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and it would want to try and solve the more than 75-year-old Israel-Palestine dispute. Beijing may not be too ambitious and may not involve itself in Middle Eastern issues. But by declaring its stand on terms based on which the Palestinian statehood issue would be decided is indeed a bold step on the part of Beijing. Israel had been trying to sidestep the 1967 criterion because it is keen to keep the war trophies of 1967, including East Jerusalem and West Bank. Even according to Oslo Accords of 1994, Israel was supposed to have handed over West Bank to the Palestinians after dismantling the Jewish encroachments and settlements in the West Bank.

China can take an impartial stand in the matter because Beijing does not have to deal with the Jewish lobby as the American president would have to do. It has not been possible for the United States to take an impartial stand because of the Jewish lobby in America. This does not mean that China would be able to play a positive role in solving the Palestine-Israel issue. Israeli governments have always been intransigent when it came to the issue of a fair settlement with the Palestinians.

What China can do indirectly is to support the Palestinian cause and at the same time extend economic aid to Palestinian Authority which would be without strings. Israel would not want to confront China the way it does many other countries, especially Iran. Dealing with China would test the diplomatic skills of Israel more than anything else. The Americans are not of much help because Israel cannot adopt the belligerence of America towards China. Israel can at most cold shoulder China.

If Palestine were to become a thriving economic enclave with the help of countries like China, that would strengthen Palestine in a way that Israel cannot ignore. Right now, Palestine is a divided country, both geographically and politically. If Gaza ruled by Hamas and West Bank ruled by Al Fatah of Mahmoud Abbas were to stand united and derive benefit from the generous economic assistance, that should liberate the dependence of Palestinians on Israel for jobs and livelihoods. This would also strengthen Palestinians’ bargaining powers. China may help the Palestinian cause indirectly much more than trying to arrange a meeting ground between Israel and Palestine.

So China may not play the role of the mediator directly between Palestine and Israel but it could certainly change the equations between the two. The tendency of Israel to ignore international opinion would come under scrutiny once China becomes the main economic stay of Palestine. Right now, it is the United States and the European Union countries that are providing economic sustenance to Palestine, and in a way pressurising Palestine from making its demands on Israel. China could help Palestine stand on its own legs.