ISTANBUL

The recognition of Palestine as a state by more and more countries “fully demonstrates the public opinion and common expectation of the international community,” China said on Wednesday.

“The question of Palestine is at the core of the Middle East issue. The two-state solution is the only viable way out of the question,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference.

China will work with the international community to “firmly support the Palestinian people in realizing their independent statehood,” said Guo.

Beijing’s statement came as six more countries officially recognized a Palestinian state, in a new push for a two-state solution to the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Luxembourg, Belgium, Andorra, France, Malta, Monaco, and San Marino recognized the state of Palestine on Monday during a high-level summit in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly session, which began on Tuesday.

The move came a day after Britain, Canada, Australia, and Portugal announced recognition, raising the total number of countries recognizing Palestine to 159 out of 193 UN member states since the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat proclaimed the state from Algiers in 1988.

The Israeli army has killed more than 65,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.