The fundamental reason why the Israel-Palestine discord has reached such a state is that the Palestinian people have been denied the right to statehood for long — 75 years since the formation of Israel and almost three decades since the mutually negotiated "two-state solution", the highlight of the Oslo Accords.

Israelis and Palestinians can coexist peacefully only if the two-state solution is implemented and the Palestinian people get a state of their own. And the right way to advance the two-state solution is to revive the Middle East peace process. Otherwise, the two sides will continue to be locked in a vicious circle of zero-sum games, with violence perpetuating more violence.

Israel should realize the more vicious its current "self-defense" campaign is, the more destruction, both human and material, it will cause in the Gaza Strip. And the more destruction it causes to the Palestinian side, the more determined the young Palestinians will be to seek revenge by attacking Israeli targets in the foreseeable future.

Israel, which has been pounding the Gaza Strip with missiles for a week after the brief shock and uncertainty from the sudden, frightening Hamas attack on Oct 7, is obliged to heed the concerns of the international community, including its close allies, on the grave humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

It is incumbent upon the international community, too, to act swiftly to prevent the situation in the Gaza Strip going from bad to worse, leading toward a humanitarian crisis. Beijing, on its part, has wasted no time in talking with stakeholders, including not only the two conflicting sides but also the United States, Russia, the European Union, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye, calling for an immediate cease-fire and seeking a permanent resolution to the dispute.

Also, the special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue is engaged in shuttling diplomacy, visiting different countries and imploring the two sides to call a cease-fire and stop killing each other. Importantly, China has decided to provide emergency humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian National Authority through the United Nations.

The two sides should stop the fighting, make efforts to ensure the safety of civilians, and open a humanitarian rescue and assistance passage for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

As for the United Nations, it should place the Israel-Palestine issue on top of its agenda, and the UN Security Council should shoulder the responsibility for building an international consensus on resolving the issue.

On the question of Palestine, China will continue to stand on the side of peace, justice, international law, shared aspirations and conscience. The question of Palestine is at the heart of the Middle East issue. It's a wound that has been festering for 75 years. There is no shortage of injustice in the world, but the injustice done to the Palestinian people has dragged on for far too long. Peace is incumbent upon the Palestinian people getting justice.