China backs efforts to bring ‘justice’ in Palestine amid warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu, Gallant

ISTANBUL

China on Friday backed any effort to bring “justice” in Palestine after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued landmark arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, state media reported.

Beijing “supports any efforts contributing to achieving justice, upholds international law regarding Palestine,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian when asked about the ICC warrants issued on Thursday.

“We oppose all actions that violate international law, including international humanitarian law, and condemn any practices that harm civilians or attack civilian facilities,” said Lin.

The ICC announced in a landmark move on Thursday that it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestinian territories, including Gaza.

It said it "found reasonable grounds" to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant "bear criminal responsibility" for "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts."

On the issue of Palestine, the spokesman said China has “always stood on the side of fairness and justice, as well as on the side of international law. “

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.