BEIJING (Sputnik) — Palestine wants to see the greater involvement of China in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Thursday.
"Yes, we really want to see the greater involvement [of China] in the process of reaching an agreement between Palestine and Israel," Malki said at a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In turn, Wang Yi stressed China was seeking "historic justice" and said that an early settlement of the Palestinian question would contribute to an effective fight against terror in the Middle East.
Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity.
The latest effort to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict took place in January, when over 70 states and international organizations took part in the Paris conference for peace in the Middle East. Israel refused to take part in the conference, saying that it preferred to hold bilateral talks directly with the Palestinian side.