The State of Israel issued a formal condemnation of China’s support for the Hamas terrorist organization in its testimony last week at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.
“Israel regrets the unfortunate statement made by the legal advisor of China’s foreign ministry at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to which armed struggle is part of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and is a legitimate tool for achieving independence,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat wrote on the X social media platform.
“The laws of war do not permit the systematic and deliberate attack of civilians or the use of civilians as human shields, two war crimes that Hamas commits in the name of ‘armed struggle.’
“At the present time, the Chinese statement could be interpreted as support for the murderous terrorist attack committed by Hamas on October 7th.
“China should ask itself why the Hamas terrorist organization was so quick to praise the words of the Chinese legal advisor at the ICJ.”
Senior Chinese legal expert Ma Xinmin told the Court last Thursday that China believes the Palestinian Authority has the right to engage in armed struggle in its conflict with Israel.
““In pursuit of the right to self-determination, Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of an independent state is (an) inalienable right well founded in international law,” the Chinese official testified.
“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,” he added.
The Chinese legal expert posited that UN General Assembly Resolution 3707 of 1973 reaffirms the “legitimacy of people’s struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination and subjugation by all available means including armed struggle … “This recognition is also reflected in international convention, for example Arab convention for suppressing of terrorism of 1998 (which) affirms the right of peoples to combat foreign occupation, aggression by whatever means, including armed struggle in order to liberate their territories and secure the right to self-determination and independence.
“Armed struggle, in this context, is distinguished from acts of terrorism. It is grounded in the international law,” he said. “This distinction is acknowledged by several international conventions.”
Clearly sauce for the goose is not for the gander: China has been accused of genocide and crimes against humanity against its Muslim-majority Uyghur population in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
More than one million Uyghurs have allegedly been detained over the past few years and sent to a large network of so-called “re-education camps”. Hundreds of thousands have been sentenced to prison terms. According to a 2022 investigative report by the British Broadcasting Corporation, a series of police files described China’s “shoot-to-kill” policy for those trying to escape the camps.
