China urges Israel to end West Bank settlement expansion and ease Gaza crisis

Wang Yi asked Israel to address two linked issues: Gaza’s humanitarian emergency and West Bank settlement growth. He said opening access routes into Gaza was the immediate priority, because two million civilians should not be left struggling to survive. He also called for Israel to halt and reverse its forced settlement expansion.

The article gives a concrete example of the urgency: aid restrictions and near-daily deadly attacks continued even after an October ceasefire eased conditions somewhat. Wang’s request connects humanitarian access with the wider political dispute. Settlements are built in territory occupied since 1967 and affect land intended for a future Palestinian state.

The appeal came during the highest-level Chinese engagement with Israel since the war began in October 2023. Wang also backed a two-state solution and called the Palestinian issue the century’s greatest historical injustice. China’s position adds diplomatic pressure, while Israel highlighted threats from Iran and its proxies.

Israeli settlements are communities built by Israel in the West Bank, a territory the article describes as occupied since 1967. The article says these settlements are deemed illegal under international law. Their growth is not only a legal issue; it changes the facts on the ground in territory connected to Palestinian statehood.

The key mechanism is territorial competition. Rapid settlement expansion fuels disputes over land designated for a future Palestinian state. That makes it harder to define where two states would exist and how they could live alongside each other. Wang therefore urged Israel to halt and reverse the expansion, rather than allowing it to continue.

The dispute remains part of the wider war and peace debate. China says a two-state solution is the only viable path, while Israel and China have strained relations over the war. The settlement question will continue affecting negotiations about borders, sovereignty, and Palestinian statehood.

Gaza’s crisis is massive in both human and physical terms. Figures cited from United Nations agencies, using Gaza health authorities, record more than 70,000 deaths since October 2023, including 20,000 children. More than 100,000 people have been injured. These numbers show why China called immediate humanitarian access essential.

Displacement affects nearly all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents. Vast swathes of the enclave have been reduced to rubble, and the region has the world’s highest proportion of child amputees, according to the article. The destruction is therefore not limited to casualties; it has transformed living conditions across the territory.

An October ceasefire eased conditions somewhat, but the United Nations reported that aid restrictions and near-daily deadly attacks persisted. The scale of death, injury, displacement, and destruction keeps the humanitarian crisis central to diplomatic efforts. Wang warned that it must not be overshadowed by wider regional escalation.

Restricted or closed aid routes reduce civilians’ access to the supplies needed to survive. Wang said two million people must not be left on the brink of survival and called for Gaza’s access routes to be fully opened. The article presents humanitarian access as the immediate practical response to the crisis.

The reported consequences are severe. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents remain displaced, while vast areas have been reduced to rubble. United Nations reporting also found that Israeli aid restrictions persisted alongside near-daily deadly attacks after an October ceasefire. This means a ceasefire alone did not restore safe or stable living conditions.

The crisis can therefore deepen even when fighting eases somewhat. Continued restrictions leave civilians exposed to shortages, displacement, and danger, while injured people face an already devastated environment. Wang said the catastrophe must not be allowed to spread, making open routes a central diplomatic demand rather than a secondary concern.

The two-state solution is a peace framework in which an independent state of Palestine exists peacefully alongside Israel. The article says the proposed basis is the pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem serving as the capital of both states. China describes this approach as the only viable path forward.

Pre-1967 borders matter because they supply a reference point for deciding which territory belongs to each future state. Without an agreed territorial framework, disputes over land and sovereignty remain unresolved. The article links that problem directly to expanding Israeli settlements in West Bank territory occupied since 1967, where land is designated for a future Palestinian state.

The proposal remains important despite continuing disagreement. Wang called the Palestinian issue the century’s greatest historical injustice and urged international backing for the solution. China repeated that position in talks with both Israeli and Palestinian representatives, but the article does not report a new agreement on borders or implementation.

The three sides engage because the conflict has regional and international consequences, and diplomacy remains a way to discuss humanitarian access and possible peace arrangements. China supports the Palestinian cause and a two-state solution. Israel wants its security concerns recognized, while Palestinian representatives seek stronger backing for their statehood aims.

Their different priorities appeared in the meetings. Wang urged Israel to open Gaza’s access routes and reverse West Bank settlement expansion. Herzog highlighted threats from Iran and its terror proxies and stressed the importance of Sino-Israeli trade, economics, and culture. Wang separately told Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin that China would continue supporting the Palestinian cause.

Relations are strained because Israel was disappointed that China did not explicitly condemn Hamas. Even so, Herzog called China a constructive force for regional peace and expressed readiness for close communication. These contacts keep diplomatic channels open while the war, humanitarian crisis, and two-state debate continue.

International law, as presented in the article, deems Israeli settlements in territory occupied since 1967 illegal. This legal position concerns the building of Israeli communities in the West Bank. It matters because the issue is not only about construction; it also concerns who may claim, control, and govern land connected to Palestinian statehood.

The mechanism is territorial change. Rapidly expanding settlements fuel disputes over land designated for a future Palestinian state. As settlement communities grow, the territorial basis for a two-state arrangement becomes more contested. That is why Wang urged Israel to halt and reverse the expansion, while linking the issue to the broader peace framework.

The legal question therefore affects both present disputes and future negotiations. China supports a Palestine alongside Israel based on pre-1967 borders. Israel’s position in the described meeting focused on regional security and bilateral relations. The article reports no settlement agreement, so the legal and territorial dispute remains unresolved.