By Manal Abdel Fattah
China’s Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang praised the efforts of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Egyptian government in working to bring peace to the Gaza Strip and facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Strip, as well as his convening of the Cairo Peace Conference in order to find a solution to the current crisis.
At a press conference held at the headquarters of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, the Chinese ambassador announced China’s intention to send large quantities of humanitarian aid, including food, drinking water and medical materials to the population of the Gaza Strip, noting that Chinese President Xi Jinping announced during the virtual BRICS summit on the situation in Gaza that Beijing’s intention to send urgent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
Liqiang said that 8 trucks worth of aid provided by the Chinese government arrived last November 28 and will be sent to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, thanking the Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo Diab Al-louh for his support to the Chinese side as well as the Red Crescent Society for providing facilities of procedures and logistics for the delivery of that aid.
During his chairman of the recent UN Security Council meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Li reiterated his support for the Palestinian cause, and that the Chinese government recently submitted a paper on the issue and efforts to reach a just settlement, he said.
For his part, Palestine’s Ambassador to Cairo Diab Al-LOuh said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent a letter of thanks and appreciation to the Chinese side for providing urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip, and Beijing’s support for us economically, developmentally and politically, as the Chinese government supported the Palestinian police and national security and established the headquarters of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah, and is financing infrastructure projects in Gaza and the West Bank.
He stressed that China is a historical and strategic partner of Palestine in light of President Mahmoud Abbas’ signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement with his Chinese counterpart. He praised China’s fair position on the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people’s struggle to establish their state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He explained that China has put forward two initiatives on the Palestinian issue that include items demanding the opening of humanitarian corridors, providing protection for the Palestinian people in Gaza, facilitating the provision of humanitarian aid and working to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, through the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian ambassador also expressed his thanks and appreciation to President Sisi and the Egyptian government for his position on the fierce war waged by Israel, and for their support for the establishment of a Palestinian state, praising Cairo’s role in rejecting the forced displacement of the residents of Gaza.
In turn, Dr. Rami Al-Nazir, Executive Director of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, called for the opening of humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, adding that the Society received aid from 33 countries and 9 organizations, and 2,097 trucks of aid were delivered to the residents of the Gaza Strip.
