Related Quarterly Updates

The Washington Times ran (5/30) a special report on how Israel’s relationship with China was raising international concerns. The report stated that Israel has recently been expanding trade relations and military ties with China as a large, emerging market for its military goods and an influential player capable of bringing pressure on Iran. The previous week, the IDF had hosted a Chinese paramilitary unit in Israel for a joint training mission, while IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz had visited China to discuss increasing military cooperation. Early in the quarter, Israeli PM Netanyahu announced plans to visit China in 6/2012, but subsequently the trip was postponed. Israel and China opened diplomatic relations in 1992 and for nearly a decade had a strong relationship based on Israel’s selling sophisticated military technology to China. From 2000 to 2005, however, the relationship suffered when the U.S. forced Israel to cancel 2 planned arms deals with China. The cancellations came amid a raft of accusations that Israel had shared proprietary U.S. military technology with China in violation of bilateral agreements.

The Israeli cabinet approved (4/23) a major 1/2017 deal with China to provide 6,000 laborers to fill an unmet demand for construction workers in Israel. While the agreement was largely irrelevant to Palestinian affairs or the wider Arab-Israeli conflict, one provision stipulated that no Chinese worker was to be employed in Israel’s West Bank or East Jerusalem settlements. The Chinese govt.’s official reason for requesting the provision was worker safety, but several Israeli officials acknowledged (4/23) that it stemmed from political concerns. Furthermore, when the outline of the deal was announced in 1/2017, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson responded (1/5) to a question about potential political implications by saying, “China’s position on the Palestine-Israel issue is consistent, clear, and unchanged. We oppose building Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem and [the] West Bank.”

With Trump’s peace initiative stalling, Chinese pres. Xi Jinping signaled a new willingness to enter the Palestinian-Israeli arena. During a joint press conference with PA pres. Abbas in Beijing, Xi pledged (7/18) to “ceaselessly” pursue peace between Israel and the Palestinians and presented a 4-point plan that included a 2-state solution based on the pre-1967 armistice lines and a halt to Israeli settlement growth. During Abbas’s visit, Deputy FM Zhang Ming also told reporters that Beijing planned to host a peace conference for Israel and the Palestinians by the end of 2017.

Quarterly Updates for (1 Jan 1970 — 1 Jan 1970)

The Israeli cabinet approved (4/23) a major 1/2017 deal with China to provide 6,000 laborers to fill an unmet demand for construction workers in Israel. While the agreement was largely irrelevant to Palestinian affairs or the wider Arab-Israeli conflict, one provision stipulated that no Chinese worker was to be employed in Israel’s West Bank or East Jerusalem settlements. The Chinese govt.’s official reason for requesting the provision was worker safety, but several Israeli officials acknowledged (4/23) that it stemmed from political concerns.