Beijing will oppose discussing the Goldstone Commission's report at the UN Security Council and allowing the document to serve as a basis for law suits against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Chinese members of parliament told a visiting delegation of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in Beijing on Wednesday.
The Goldstone report, which states that Israel committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, called on the UN Security Council to refer the matter to the ICC, which could prosecute individual Israelis.
The Chinese statement came after MK Tzahi Hanegbi (Kadima), who chairs the committee, slammed China for voting in favor of a resolution endorsing the Goldstone report at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session on Friday.
Despite Israeli lobbying efforts, the resolution passed 25-6, with 11 countries abstaining and five declining to vote. Russia, along with India and China, all voted against Israel at Friday's meeting that sent the report to the UN General Assembly.
The Chinese MPs stressed that the UNHRC had the tools to look into the report without the involvement of other international institutions.
Hanegbi, who is leading the Knesset delegation to Beijing, explained that Wednesday's statement did not indicate a change in China's position regarding the Goldstone report, adding that China endorsed the UNHRC resolution because of other issues included in the document.
"China is in good relations with everyone, there's no advantage in our favor. They have good ties with the Palestinians, with the Arab states, with Iran. Regarding this vote, the Arabs did something clever, they included in the resolution issues other than the Goldstone report, issues that are classically supported by the majority of the UN member states, such as the importance of preventing violations of the rights of Arabs in Jerusalem and including the Palestinians in international dialogue on the establishment of a Palestinian state. Many states that support the Arabs had no choice but to support the resolution once these issues were mentioned in it," explained Hanegbi in an interview with Israel Radio.
"Both Russia and China have stressed that they wouldn't have voted in favor of the resolution if it dealt only with the Goldstone report," Hanegbi said. "Right now, China, Russia, and other states that endorsed the report understand that this must be the end of the road because progress on this issue [i.e. if the Security Council refers the matter to the ICC] would have dire consequences for peace talks."
When asked whether the Knesset delegation tried to explain Israel's difficult situation regarding the Palestinians to their Chinese counterparts, Hanegbi said that the Iranian issue and not the Middle East peace process was the major topic of conversation in Beijing.
"China wants peace and stability in the Middle East, but it's not fascinated with all the details of the situation. However, it's one of the six world powers currently holding talks with Iranian officials. I feel it's important for us to get China to use all its powers of persuasion to clarify to Teheran that the world won't accept a nuclear Iran," Hanegbi said.
"It's true that China and Iran have very strong ties… China imports 14 percent of its gas from Iran. But China's top priority is stability, which is necessary for continued financial growth. We tried to explain that a nuclear Iran would undermine stability in the region and in the world, as it would lead to an arms race in the Middle East. That's why China must present a harsh policy on the Iranian front," he concluded.
Speaking of the Chinese and Russian votes at the UNHRC, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on Sunday, "This is very disappointing. We are going to check this through diplomatic channels with these countries. Russia and China are very serious countries which we respect and appreciate. We do not understand why they would vote against their own interests."
In related news, a UN official in New York on Monday announced that the UN General Assembly would hold a special session to discuss the Goldstone report before the end of 2009, Israel Radio reported.
According to the report, the exact date for the session would be set after consultations with the relevant parties and representatives of UN member states.
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