In Beijing, Arab and Muslim ministers urge an end to Gaza conflict

Arab and Muslim ministers called on Monday (November 20) for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as their delegation visited Beijing on the first leg of a tour to push for an end to hostilities and to allow humanitarian aid into the devastated Palestinian enclave.

The delegation, which is set to meet officials representing each of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, is also piling pressure on the West to reject Israel’s justification of its actions against Palestinians as self-defence.

The officials holding meetings with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Monday are from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestinian-occupied territories and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, among others.

The extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh this month also urged the International Criminal Court to investigate “war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing” in the Palestinian territories.