Country Perspective
Steve Jobson
Sara Price
Humanities 1
5 March 2013
China’s Position on the Israeli-Palestine Controversy
Although we have limited relations with Israel and Palestine, we understand that defusing the situation is necessary in order to both keep our interests there safe, and keep people safe.
Israel and Palestine have a long-running dispute about who owns the land that is currently defined as Israel. Both parties in this dispute have equally valid points. Israel claims that it is persecuted for being a Jewish nation. Yes, the Jews are persecuted, and Israel is a safe place for them. The Palestinians say that they have homes in this land, and that the Jews took this land. This is also true. Both groups have reasons for wanting this place, and to deny one access without first considering the implications is a grave mistake.
Israel is a valuable ally for us, as we have great need of their technology in our military, and other areas.(Growing, China’s Palestine) We also respect Palestine, and hope that the two can resolve issues to everyone’s benefit.(China Contributes) Unfortunately, in this particular situation, the two groups involved cannot reach a mutually beneficial agreement. We want good relations with and between these two countries, and this is not viable considering their current stalemate.
We hope that the various factions can play out their qualms peacefully, as stated in our backing of the Arab Peace Initiative. This initiative offers Israel full recognition in exchange for all territories it occupied during the war, and a just solution for all Palestinian refugees.(China Hopes, China’s Palestine) Now, we seem to back Palestine just a little bit more than we do Israel to some folks, and these allegations are partly true. We have a culture of supporting the underdog, and in this case, the Palestinians appear to be the underdog.(Israel’s China)
However, our input alone, and our backing of this particular solution, will not be enough to generate a lasting peace. The solution that would be proposed here is the separation of Israel into three areas. One area will be an unoccupied section that spans all the holy sites, and divides Israel. There won’t be any settlements here. The second part will be a full on Jewish state that is inarguably in Jewish hands. The third partition will be a section for the Palestinian’s to begin reclaiming their territory. This would leave everyone some room to begin negotiating on slightly less hostile ground. The Palestinians would have their territory back at least in part, the holy sites would be out of the equation, and Israel would still be a separate state. In order to make this division work, Israel, Palestine, and some members of the Arab League would have to be involved in the diplomacy, and planning of this process. In order to police the division, we could have delegates from powers that have interests in this area, namely, the U.S. and China, to ensure that no one does anything reckless. A U.N. peace-keeping force could be sent in to ease the transfer that is agreed upon by the politicians, and it would be backed mainly by China, and possibly the U.S. As a further incentive, once both countries have reached an agreement, China will increase trade with both countries, and increase the quantity of supplies to the remaining refugees. In the event that the parties negotiating should defy this plan, China would start placing sanctions on what could be traded with these countries. These sanctions would only be used in the event that the diplomacy required for the first solution had irreparably broken down. As a final option, the U.N. could use military force to keep the two countries away from each other’s throats. The peace-keeping force would be tasked with protecting Israel and Palestine from each other, and providing a foothold into the area for the reestablishment of diplomacy. Works Cited
“China Contributes a Lot to Palestinian Refugees: UN Official”. People’s Daily. n.p. n.d.
March 4th, 2013. Web. <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200401/14/ eng20040114_132557.shtml>
“China Hopes for Peace in Palestine”. China.org. n.p. n.d. March 4th, 2013. Web. <http://www.china.org.cn/international/2007-06/15/content_1214045.htm>
“China’s Palestine Policy”. The Jamestown Foundation. n.p. n.d.
March 4th, 2013. Web. <http://www.jamestown.org/single/? no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=34662>
“The Growing Chinese-Israeli Relationship”. FrontPageMag.Com. n.p. n.d.
March 5th, 2013. Web. <http://frontpagemag.com/2012/joseph-puder/the- growing-chinese-israeli-relationship/>
“Israel’s China Challenge”. Times of Israel. n.p. n.d. March 5th, 2013. Web. <http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-china-challenge/>
Sara Price
Humanities 1
5 March 2013
China’s Position on the Israeli-Palestine Controversy
Although we have limited relations with Israel and Palestine, we understand that defusing the situation is necessary in order to both keep our interests there safe, and keep people safe.
Israel and Palestine have a long-running dispute about who owns the land that is currently defined as Israel. Both parties in this dispute have equally valid points. Israel claims that it is persecuted for being a Jewish nation. Yes, the Jews are persecuted, and Israel is a safe place for them. The Palestinians say that they have homes in this land, and that the Jews took this land. This is also true. Both groups have reasons for wanting this place, and to deny one access without first considering the implications is a grave mistake.
Israel is a valuable ally for us, as we have great need of their technology in our military, and other areas.(Growing, China’s Palestine) We also respect Palestine, and hope that the two can resolve issues to everyone’s benefit.(China Contributes) Unfortunately, in this particular situation, the two groups involved cannot reach a mutually beneficial agreement. We want good relations with and between these two countries, and this is not viable considering their current stalemate.
We hope that the various factions can play out their qualms peacefully, as stated in our backing of the Arab Peace Initiative. This initiative offers Israel full recognition in exchange for all territories it occupied during the war, and a just solution for all Palestinian refugees.(China Hopes, China’s Palestine) Now, we seem to back Palestine just a little bit more than we do Israel to some folks, and these allegations are partly true. We have a culture of supporting the underdog, and in this case, the Palestinians appear to be the underdog.(Israel’s China)
However, our input alone, and our backing of this particular solution, will not be enough to generate a lasting peace. The solution that would be proposed here is the separation of Israel into three areas. One area will be an unoccupied section that spans all the holy sites, and divides Israel. There won’t be any settlements here. The second part will be a full on Jewish state that is inarguably in Jewish hands. The third partition will be a section for the Palestinian’s to begin reclaiming their territory. This would leave everyone some room to begin negotiating on slightly less hostile ground. The Palestinians would have their territory back at least in part, the holy sites would be out of the equation, and Israel would still be a separate state. In order to make this division work, Israel, Palestine, and some members of the Arab League would have to be involved in the diplomacy, and planning of this process. In order to police the division, we could have delegates from powers that have interests in this area, namely, the U.S. and China, to ensure that no one does anything reckless. A U.N. peace-keeping force could be sent in to ease the transfer that is agreed upon by the politicians, and it would be backed mainly by China, and possibly the U.S. As a further incentive, once both countries have reached an agreement, China will increase trade with both countries, and increase the quantity of supplies to the remaining refugees. In the event that the parties negotiating should defy this plan, China would start placing sanctions on what could be traded with these countries. These sanctions would only be used in the event that the diplomacy required for the first solution had irreparably broken down. As a final option, the U.N. could use military force to keep the two countries away from each other’s throats. The peace-keeping force would be tasked with protecting Israel and Palestine from each other, and providing a foothold into the area for the reestablishment of diplomacy. Works Cited
“China Contributes a Lot to Palestinian Refugees: UN Official”. People’s Daily. n.p. n.d.
March 4th, 2013. Web. <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200401/14/ eng20040114_132557.shtml>
“China Hopes for Peace in Palestine”. China.org. n.p. n.d. March 4th, 2013. Web. <http://www.china.org.cn/international/2007-06/15/content_1214045.htm>
“China’s Palestine Policy”. The Jamestown Foundation. n.p. n.d.
March 4th, 2013. Web. <http://www.jamestown.org/single/? no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=34662>
“The Growing Chinese-Israeli Relationship”. FrontPageMag.Com. n.p. n.d.
March 5th, 2013. Web. <http://frontpagemag.com/2012/joseph-puder/the- growing-chinese-israeli-relationship/>
“Israel’s China Challenge”. Times of Israel. n.p. n.d. March 5th, 2013. Web. <http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-china-challenge/>