I authored an article in early April 2024 “China’s Support of
Hamas: Evidence and Actions” for the Jewish Policy Center’s quarterly
inFOCUS
Quarterly (Spring 2024). That article caused a stir among “China
watchers” and academics. This article will also cause another stir in
an analogous manner because it reveals some information that many
media outlets and academics failed to see or did not amalgamate the
supportive relationships among China, Hamas, and the Muslim world.
This article will examine China’s involvement in the meetings of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League prior to
and after the 7 October terrorist attack against Israel.
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
Many are aware the OIC (with 56 UN member states plus the “State of
Palestine”) is the second largest international organization after the
United Nations. It is less known that the OIC, represented by their
respective heads of state, has declared Jihad against the State of
Israel at least twice since 1969, the year the OIC was created.
In 1981, during the OIC’s Third Islamic Conference, the
Mecca Declaration stated
the following:
- “The Kings, Emirs, and Heads of State of Islamic countries have
agreed to declare holy Jihad for salvaging AL QUDS AL SHARIF,
supporting the Palestinian people and bringing about Israeli
withdrawal from occupied Arab territories.”
In 1987, the OIC leadership again declared
a Jihad again against Israel during the Fifth Islamic
Conference:
- “…Reiterates that the question of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif
takes priority over all other questions for all Muslims, that
Jihad for the liberation of Al-Quds, the deliverance of
Al-Aqsa Mosque and victory of the Palestinian people is an individual
religious obligation on all Muslims, so that each should contribute
what he can in fulfilling it, seeking Allah's satisfaction, and a duty
imposed by Islamic Fraternity, for the vindication of right and the
removal of evil.”
Similarly, the Arab League (with seven countries in 1945 and now
having 22 countries) also has a sordid history with Israel. Recall
that all seven of the Arab League countries (the Kingdom of Egypt,
Kingdom of Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Republic, Transjordan
(Jordan from 1949), and North Yemen (later becoming Yemen) invaded
Israel in 1948. On 14 May 1948, the head of the Arab League Secretary,
General Azzam Pasha, declared
war against Israel and all Jews in Arab League countries: “It will be
a war of annihilation. It will be a momentous massacre in history that
will be talked about like the massacres of the Mongols or the
Crusades.”
I was curious to see what the OIC and the Arab League did prior to
and after the 7 October terrorist attack. I discovered that the
culmination of these meetings was the Beijing Declaration on 23 July
2024. The PRC Foreign Ministry and CCP did plenty of planning and
coordinating for the Beijing Declaration. China’s involvement with the
Palestinian factions and with the OIC and the Arab League reveals a
new shift in the new Cold War.
Key Events Before October 7, 2023
1988: China recognizes the State of Palestine.
18 July 2017: Abbas awards
the highest Palestinian medal to Xi for China’s support for
Palestine.
29 December 2020: Hamas and other terrorist groups
practice the first of four “Strong Pillar” invasion exercises.
26 December 2021: Hamas and other terrorist groups
practice the second “Strong Pillar” invasion exercise.
13 October 2022: Algeria Declaration of
National Reconciliation
- The UN Secretary General announced
“the signing on 13 October of the Declaration of Algiers by 14
Palestinian factions as a positive step towards intra-Palestinian
reconciliation.” He also greatly appreciated
the assistance “of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria and,
notably, of President Abdelmajid Tebboune.”
- The General Secretariat of the OIC “welcomed
the signing by the [14] Palestinian factions of the Algeria
Declaration of National Reconciliation, considering that this is
an important and positive step on the road to ending the division and
restoring the national unity of the Palestinian people.”
- “The OIC also expressed its appreciation to the Republic of
Algeria for sponsoring and hosting this dialogue…”
6 December 2022: China and Palestine sign
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) “on Matters of Common Interest
under the Joint Construction of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative”
(BRI).
7-10 December 2022: First China-Arab [League]
States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit
occurred in Riyadh, Saidi Arabia. Chinese President Xi Jinping
attended the two summits and visited Saudi Arabia to meet with the
Saudi leadership, sign a $30 billion trade deal.
28 December 2022: Hamas and other terrorist groups
practice the third “Strong Pillar” invasion exercise.
10 March 2023: Joint Trilateral Statement by the
People's Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the
Islamic Republic of Iran (Beijing, PRC) highlights
include:
- This statement affirmed that Iran and Saudi Arabia would
re-establish diplomatic relations and respect each other’s internal
affairs.
- “In response to the noble initiative of His Excellency
President Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China,
of China's support for developing good neighborly relations between
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of
Iran…”
- “Adhering to the principles and objectives of the Charters of the
United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and
international conventions and norms…”
- OIC General Secretariat welcomes Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Agreement
to resume Diplomatic Relations. He praised the leadership of the
People Republic of China for sponsoring the talks between the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran thus enabling their
success.
14 June 2023: President Xi Jinping held
talks at the Great Hall of the People with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas who was on a state visit to China and announced
the “Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the State
of Palestine on Establishing a Strategic Partnership.”
31 July 2023: 18th Extraordinary Session of the
Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) noted
the following two items of interest:
- Appreciates the "Algeria Declaration" … to end
division and achieve reconciliation as a positive step towards
national unity, expresses deep appreciation to the People's
Democratic Republic of Algeria for sponsoring the talks, and
appreciates the unremitting efforts made by the President of the
Republic of Algeria, Mr. Abdel Majid Tebboune for the success of this
historic endeavor.
- Calls on the Islamic Group of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation to intensify its efforts at the level of international
organizations and take the necessary measures to force Israel, the
colonial occupying power, to stop all its violations and illegal
measures in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Al-Quds
Al-Sharif.
17 August 2023: High-Level Delegation from OIC
Member States and OIC General Secretariat visits
China.
- According to the OIC website, “[D]uring the delegation's visit,
they met with the Deputy Minister of the Unified Action Front
Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The meeting discussed the strategic partnership between the OIC,
its Member States, and the People's Republic of China.”
12 September 2023: Hamas and other terrorist
groups practice the fourth “Strong Pillar” invasion exercise.
After October 7, 2023
11 November 2023: Joint Arab [League] Islamic
[Organization of Islamic Cooperation] Extraordinary Summit On Israeli
Aggression Against the Palestinian People (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
A month after Hamas and its terrorist allies slaughtered Israels
and non-Israeli citizens from 41 countries in Israel on 7 October, the
OIC and the Arab League met in Riyadh Saudia, Arabia to set a plan of
action against Israel. This meeting was the first time that the Arab
League and the OIC had combined meeting.
Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi,
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Al Thani, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (allowed back into the
Arab League in 2023), attended. Below are
highlights of their resolution (the English translations of the OIC
resolution and the Arab
League resolution are similar):
- “Confirming all the resolutions of the Organization [OIC]
and the [Arab] League regarding the Palestinian Cause and all the
occupied Arab territories…” (In other words, the OIC re-affirms the
declarations of jihad against Israel approved at the OIC Third and
Fifth Summits.)
- “Demand that all countries stop exporting weapons and
ammunitions.”
- Request the International Criminal Court to investigate
war crimes and crimes against humanity (committed by
Israel).
-
“Establish two specialized legal monitoring units to document the
Israeli crimes committed in the Gaza Strip …” (Samples are found
here).
- Pursue Israeli officials “for their crimes against the
Palestinian people” for the International Court of Justice…”
- Request the “Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
to investigate into Israel’s use of chemical weapons…”
- “Call on the Palestinian factions and forces to unite under
its umbrella and to assume their responsibilities within a national
partnership led by the Palestine Liberation Organization…” (Key
statement related to the Beijing Declaration]
- Convene “an international peace conference, as soon as possible”
including the “land for peace” principle, within a specific
time limit and with international guarantees, leading to an end to the
Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories occupied in
1967” … “and the implementation of the two-state solution.”
Although the Islamic countries agreed with the final wording of the
joint resolution, some Muslim countries called for a total cut in
diplomatic ties; Algeria and Iran led
this group. Other countries like Bahrain and the UAE, members of the
Abraham Accords, rejected
this path. Tehran also attempted to designate the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) as a terrorist organization similar to the terrorist
designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by
Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and the US, but this was also
rejected.
20 November 2023: Ministerial Committee Mandated
by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit meets with Chinese
Foreign Minister (Beijing, PRC)
21 November 2023: Ministerial Committee Mandated
by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit holds
meeting with Vice-President of China (Beijing, China)
- “…members of the Ministerial Committee commended the positions
taken by China with regard to the crisis in Gaza, which are aligned
with the Arab and Islamic positions.”
24 February 2024: Extraordinary Session
of Islamic Conference of Information Ministers of the Member States of
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (Istanbul, Republic of
Türkiye)
- “Provide support for the OIC
Media Monitoring Unit to organize a media workshop to accomplish
its mission as stipulated by the joint Arab and Islamic Summit held in
Riyadh on 11 November 2023.”
29 February - 2 March 2024: Palestinian groups met
in Russia and “provided a venue for the meeting between delegates from
factions within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including
the Fatah movement, as well as participants from Hamas and the Islamic
Jihad group. In all, envoys from more than 10 organizations have
arrived in Moscow for the meeting.”
5 March 2024: The Extraordinary Session of The
Council of Foreign Ministers of The Member States of The OIC to
consider the continuing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian
People (Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The meeting was held at the
request of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Palestine,
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Islamic Republic of Iran.
Key points discussed in this meeting
were:
- Asserts “all the [OIC] resolutions adopted by the OIC regarding
the issue of Palestine and the Holy City of Al-Quds…” (reaffirms the
declarations of Jihad during the OIC’s Third and Fifth Summit)
- Calls for Israel’s membership in international organizations,
particularly in the United Nations, to be suspended.
- “Appreciates the efforts of the Islamic Group within the UN
Security Council, specifically the distinguished efforts of the United
Arab Emirates and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, the
current member in the Security Council, to stop the Israeli barbaric
aggression against the Palestinian people…”
- “Calls on the Islamic groups in capitals and international
organizations to take immediate action to convey the OIC position to
the capitals of world countries…”
17 March 2024: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met PRC
Ambassador to Qatar, Cao Xiaolin and Foreign Ministry envoy Wang
Kejian in Qatar. Ambassador Cao noted
that “the close and historic relationship between the Palestinian and
Chinese peoples and China’s firm positions towards the Palestinian
issue and its standing by the just demands of the Palestinian people
for freedom, independence, and statehood.”
30 April 2024: The PRC Foreign Ministry announced
that Hamas and Fatah representatives held “in-depth and candid
dialogue” in Beijing to promote reconciliation. Hamas and Fatah agreed
to continue the dialogue again in Beijing in June.
5 May 2024: 15th OIC Islamic Summit (Banjul, The
Gambia) attended by “their Majesties, Excellencies, and Highnesses,
heads of states, and governments of the OIC member States, and
high-level dignitaries from non-member states.” The following are noted
highlights:
- The Secretary-General emphasized that the Palestinian cause
remains the OIC’s central issue.
- The 15th Islamic Summit Conference was addressed by several
dignitaries including the Special Envoy of the President of
China.
- At the end of the two-day conference, the 15th Islamic Summit is
expected to adopt a special resolution on the issue of Palestine and
Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, a comprehensive communique, and the Banjul
Declaration.
- The following are
relevant highlights of the Banjul Declaration: “Urge our Palestinian
brothers and sisters to unite in their struggle to achieve their
objectives, under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Organization
the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
16 May 2024: The Arab League conducted
a summit in Manama, Bahrain and produced the “Bahrain Declaration”
which was similar to the OIC and Arab League original joint statement
on 11 November 2023, but also included the following new elements:
- Calls “for the deployment of United Nations international
protection and peacekeeping forces in the occupied Palestinian
territory until the two-state solution is implemented.” (We know how
useless UN Peacekeeping forces have done in Lebanon)
- “We call on all Palestinian factions to join together under the
umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole
legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and to agree on a
comprehensive national project …” (This reiterates that all
Palestinian factions should unite which leads to the “Beijing
Declaration”)
16-17 May 2024: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin’s met
in Beijing and vowed to deepen their strategic partnership.
They issued
a 8,000-word joint statement outlining their shared view on issues
from Taiwan, to Ukraine, to the war in Gaza and other topics: they
“discussed the need to achieve an immediate settlement
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to resolve the Palestinian
issue based on the two-state solution and in keeping with the UN
resolution.”
30 May 2024: President Xi Jinping attended the
opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab
States Cooperation Forum (Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, PRC).
According to the PRC MFA website,
“China firmly supports the establishment of an independent State of
Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and
with East Jerusalem as its capital. It supports Palestine's full
membership in the United Nations, and supports a more broad-based,
authoritative and effective international peace conference… Bahrain's
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi,
Tunisia's President Kais Saied, the United Arab Emirates' President
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul
Gheit of the League of Arab States delivered remarks.”
18 June – 2 July 2024: The PRC Ministry of
National Defense hosted
a series of seminars for senior military officers from China and Arab
States at the PLA National Defense University (Beijing, PRC). The
officers attended
the two-week “Future-oriented China-Arab Security Cooperation” course
focused on the CCP’s Global Security Initiative.
25 June 2024: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid
bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his senior military officers met
with their PLA counterparts. Al Saud met
with Defense Minister Dong Jun and Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of
China’s Central Military Commission (Beijing, PRC)
29 June 2024: The 22-nation Arab League dropped
its designation of Hezbollah as a terror organization. As tensions
rise between Hezbollah and Israel, this change could reflect the
notion that the Arab League will intervene in Lebanon if Israel
attacks Hezbollah since Lebanon is part of the Arab League.
Additionally, the change could also reflect a new sense of confidence
from Chinese and Russian future support of the next month’s Beijing
Declaration.
3 July 2024: President Xi Jinping met again with
Russian President Vladimir Putin before the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) meeting (Astana, Kazakhstan).
23 July 2024: “Beijing Declaration” is signed at
the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing, PRC. The Palestinian factions
decided to continue the implementation of their previous agreements to
end their division with the help of Egypt, Algeria, China, and
Russia. Previous Palestinian agreements included references to
the EU and the US, not this one.
According to an several unconfirmed sources, the agreement noted:
- “Based on the National Accord Agreement signed in Cairo on
5/4/2011 and the Algiers Declaration signed on 10/12/2022, we will
continue to follow up on the implementation of the agreements to end
the division with the help of our sisters Egypt and Algeria and
our friends in the People’s Republic of China and the Russian
Federation.”
- They will "work towards the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
- They have the right to "resist and end occupation."
2026: Second China-Arab League States Summit will
be held in China.
What does all of this mean?
The four Abraham Accord countries (UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and
Sudan) normalized relations with Israel during the Trump
administration—truly a miracle considering the chaos that
characterized US politics at the time. All four countries were
represented at the OIC summits and voted in favor of the OIC
resolutions.
Iran, Qatar, and Turkey are ardent supporters of the Muslim
Brotherhood and the Islamic revolution. Their goal for Israel’s
destruction is evident in their many denunciations of Israel. And
their support is well known for terror proxies including Hamas,
Hezbollah, Houthis, Iraqi groups, IRGC-QF, ISIS, and Boko Haram.
Recall that Russia became an official OIC observer in 2005. My
previous article highlighted
China’s direct involvement with Hamas. Some unconfirmed sources have
provided with me information that implicate China’s role in supporting
Hamas via Algeria, especially with weapons. Algeria’s prominent role
in sharp rhetoric against Israel supports the argument that they are
deeply involved with Hamas and China’s efforts in the Middle East.
China has been continuously involved with the OIC and has supported
its extreme positions. China’s votes in the UN General Assembly and in
the UN Security Council have clearly been anti-Israel.
My previous article highlighted
China’s covert military training, supply of weapons and technical
tunneling assistance to Hamas. Some sources provided me information
that China sent weapons to Hamas via Algeria. Algeria’s prominent role
in excoriating Israel is consistent with the hypothesis that Algeria
helps China provide covert aid to Hamas. Egypt’s role in countenancing
extensive smuggling operations involving weapons, construction
equipment, and construction material, and supporting Hamas during
mediation also bears scrutiny.
The Future
During the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York from 10–24
September, the Arab League and the OIC will conduct a full-court press
against Israel. These actions will place Israel in an untenable
diplomatic position: to accept an infeasible two-state solution or
suffer global censure and diplomatic, economic, trade, educational,
and cultural isolation. In other words, the OIC and the Arab League
want to remove Israel from the UN just as Taiwan is forced to be
treated as a pariah state when it was replaced by the PRC; they want
to replace the State of Israel with the State of Palestine.
OIC declarations and leaked information suggests that the Chinese,
the Russians, and the OIC countries will push hard for a disastrous
two-state “solution” in which elections would be held in Gaza and the
West Bank. Recall that Hamas overwhelmingly won
legislative election in 2006 (74 Hamas seats versus 45 Fatah seats out
of 132 seats). Abbas cancelled presidential elections after his
four-year term ended in 2009 for fear of Hamas beating him.
Concluding Remarks
Just as the Oslo Accords allowed terrorist groups to hid under the
skirt of the PLO (the PLO consists of ten groups) and diminish their
terrorist profile, the Beijing Declaration will force Israel to sit
again across the table with those who murdered, ordered, or celebrated
the murder of Israelis and 41 non-Israeli nationals from other
countries and who tortured and abused over 250 hostages. This
situation is being promoted by China, Russia, OIC, Arab League, and
others.
Although many Israeli scholars, businesses, and politicians seek
friendly diplomatic relations and extensive trade with China, it is
time for Israel to pause its relationship with the PRC. Israel should
shift away from its dependency on the Chinese Communist teat which
contains poison concocted to destroy Israel. PRC access to petroleum
and trade with OIC nations far exceeds the value of PRC’s trade with
Israel. The Palestinian narrative of victimhood aligns with the PRC
narratives of the “100 years of humiliation,” which reinforces the
trade and economic incentives of allying with OIC states.
Consequently, the PRC will continue to service the OIC’s obsession
with Israel’s annihilation.
The planned Israeli elimination coincides with Russia’s and China’s
coalition (OIC/Arab League, North Korea, and others) of countries that
intend to remove democracies from their regions, including Ukraine,
Israel, and Taiwan.