The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and its Iranian backers both welcomed a strongly-worded statement delivered late last week at the International Court of Justice that said Palestinians’ use of force to “resist foreign oppression” is an “inalienable right.”
Beijing’s top diplomat for international law, Ma Xinmin, made the remarks during a 30-minute address to the court in The Hague. Ma made a direct link between the current war between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza and colonial conflicts in the past.
“The struggle waged by peoples for their liberation, right to self-determination, including armed struggle against colonialism, occupation, aggression, domination against foreign forces should not be considered terror acts,” Ma said.
Osama Hamdan, the top representative of Hamas in Lebanon, promptly welcomed Ma’s statement: “We appreciate the position expressed by the People’s Republic of China, and the necessity not to confuse terrorism with the armed struggle practiced by the Palestinian people against the Zionist occupation.”
Iran’s state-backed newspaper, Tehran Times, was seemingly equally pleased when it published a glowing article about Ma’s speech to the ICJ.
But the speech and the subsequent endorsements by Israel’s foes barely registered in the Jewish State. The Jerusalem Post newspaper was among the only media outlets that covered the story but didn’t provide any analysis or commentary.
It was much the same on X and other social media platforms where passions over the Israel-Gaza war overflow, other than a lone post by China researcher Tuvia Gering from the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, the Ma speech was largely ignored.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? It is somewhat surprising that in an era where the Israel-Palestinian conflicts and the larger issue of China are all hyper-sensitive topics online, that Ma’s statement at the ICJ last week did not trigger a response… or any discussion for that matter.
Nonetheless, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Ma framed the current conflict in Gaza as part of a colonial struggle. This has been a part of China’s longstanding narrative of the Israel-Palestinian issue and further aligns Beijing with virtually all other countries in the Global South that see the conflict in similar terms.
SUGGESTED READING:
- The National: China tells ICJ that Palestinians have the right to armed struggle by Sunniva Rose
- Jerusalem Post: Hamas praises China for its support at the ICJ
