Irecently attended a conference tackling Chinese-Palestinian relations and discussing a probable Chinese role in the Middle East in general and the Palestinian cause in particular. The conference was staged over the fact that Beijing is trying to actively partake in the region after estimations that\u00a0the U.S.\u2019 withdrawal from Afghanistan<\/a>\u00a0and Iraq will leave a huge power vacuum there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This March, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi conducted a visit to six countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where he spoke about his country\u2019s five-point initiative for the region\u2019s peace, security and prosperity: \u201cFirst, advocating mutual respect. Second, upholding equity and justice. Third, achieving non-proliferation. Fourth, jointly fostering collective security. Fifth, accelerating development cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Wang also mentioned that his country was preparing to host peace talks with a view to bringing the Palestinians and Israelis together after a stalled peace process since 2014 following Israeli refusal to halt the expansionist policy of settlement in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Palestinians eyed the Chinese call eagerly with five Palestinian officials \u2013 mainly the Palestinian president \u2013 hailing the initiative and terming it an \u201copportunity\u201d to bring peace to the war-torn region. Israel, however, turned a deaf ear to the Chinese offer; thus, no Israeli official commented on the initiative, apart from the comments from a former Israeli official claiming that China was nothing but a \u201cshow-off\u201d for this offer. Hence, the Israeli rejection of any peace process not including the U.S. as the chief mediator constitutes the first and main challenge for China to face in playing a mediating role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. will remain Israel’s preferred broker, given the fact that, for the latest 30 years on the peace path, it has exerted no pressure on Israel to commit to the peace obligations nor to respect the signed agreements with the Palestinian side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The death of\u00a0the two-state solution<\/a>\u00a0comes as the second challenge facing China. Beijing believes that this approach might still bring peace to the region despite the fact that it is highly opposed by Israel. For decades, Israel has been creating new realities in the ground to make this solution elusive. Using\u00a0the settlement issue in the West Bank<\/a>\u00a0as an example, we\u2019ve seen the number of Israeli settlers triple since the Oslo Accords of 1994, not least the daily\u00a0incursion to Al-Aqsa Mosque<\/a>\u00a0and the policy evicting Jerusalemites from the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n‘Opportunity’ in the region<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n