After Saudi-Iran detente, China says ready to facilitate Israel-Palestine peace

China is ready to help facilitate peace talks between Israel and Palestine, Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts on Monday, state news agency Xinhua reported.

“China encourages both Israel and Palestine to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks, and China is ready to facilitate this,” Xinhua cited Qin as saying.

Qin told his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in a phone call: “China is concerned about the current tension between Israel and Palestine, and the current top priority is to bring the situation under control and prevent the conflict from escalating or even getting out of control.”

The Chinese minister called on both parties to maintain calm, exercise restraint and avoid any provocative statements or actions. He stressed that the key to resolving the conflict was to resume peace talks and implement the two-state solution.

Qin pointed to China’s role in brokering the deal to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran announced last month.

He said: “Saudi Arabia and Iran recently restored diplomatic relations through dialogue, setting a good example of overcoming differences through dialogue.”