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October 10, 2024, Lebanon, a seemingly ordinary day, but because of a loud bang, it will forever be engraved on the pillar of shame in history.
The world was shocked when the Israel Defense Forces Merkava tank aimed its guns at the tower of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a blue camp symbolizing peace, and the world was shocked when two peacekeepers fell in a pool of blood.
It was like throwing a big rock into a calm lake and stirring up a wave.
The international community, from Europe and the United States to Asia, Africa and Latin America, from the government to the people, has expressed strong condemnation of Israel's atrocities.
Italy, as a victim country, is also angry.
Defense Minister Lorenzo · Guerrini urgently met with Israel's ambassador to Italy and directly criticized Israel's actions as unacceptable war crimes.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia · Meloni, a notably tough female politician, also made a rare public expression of anger, saying that Italy would never tolerate such harm to its own military and would take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests.
Russia Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria · Zakharova also strongly condemned Israel's actions at a regular press conference, calling it "a flagrant violation of international law and a serious provocation to the authority of the United Nations."
France, which has always maintained neutrality on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, also expressed "grave concern" over the incident and called on Israel to exercise restraint and respect the authority of the UN peacekeeping force.
Despite the strong reaction of the international community, Israel does not seem to have shown much apology.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin · Netanyahu, only lightly said that it was an "accident" and that the Israel army "is investigating."
And Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad · Erdan, made even more surprising statements, claiming that the Israel army "has the right to take all necessary measures to protect its own security", suggesting that the attack was "legitimate defense".
Israel's arrogance and toughness have opened the world's eyes to a disturbing fact: this country, which seems to have put itself above international law and international order, can act arbitrarily for its own selfish interests, even at the expense of directing the flames of war to the "blue helmet" symbolizing peace.
Recall that the establishment of Israel was actually facilitated by United Nations resolutions.
In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a partition resolution on Palestine, which provided the legal basis for the establishment of Israel.
However, the country, which was founded with the support of the United Nations, turned its artillery fire on its "benefactor" a few decades later.
This kind of ungrateful behavior is not only chilling, but also provokes people to think deeply: Why does Israel dare to be so arrogant?
The answer may lie in Israel's long-standing foreign policy.
Since its founding, Israel has pursued a policy of tough military expansion, constantly squeezing the living space of Palestine and triggering many wars in the Middle East.
Israel paid no heed to United Nations resolutions and appeals and continued to act according to its own wishes.
In 1982, Israel attacked Lebanon, encircled and bombed Beirut for three months, killing and injuring tens of thousands of civilians.
In 2006, Israel again launched a large-scale military offensive against Lebanon, destroying much of Lebanon's infrastructure and killing thousands of civilians.
In late 2008 and early 2009, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip, codenamed "Cast Lead". As a result of the operation, more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including many women and children.
In the summer of 2014, Israel launched another large-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
These facts show that this is not the first time that Israel has taken action against a United Nations peacekeeping force.
In 2006, Israel airstrikes on a United Nations peacekeeping observation post in Lebanon killed four peacekeepers, including Chinese military observer Du Zhaoyu.
In the face of criticism from the international community, Israel not only did not admit its mistake, but accused the United Nations of favoring Palestine.
Israel's unscrupulousness, on the one hand, stems from its own military strength and hard-line stance, and on the other hand, it is also inseparable from the support of its "backer" - United States.
The United States has always been Israel's strongest partner, providing long-term political, economic, and military support in all aspects.
In the United Nations, United States has frequently used its veto power to "escort" Israel's actions.
United States connivance will not change Israel's problems.
On the contrary, what Israel is doing is gradually eroding the foundation of international law, trampling on the bottom line of the international order and pushing the world to the brink of danger.
Israel's attack on United Nations peacekeepers not only harmed the victim countries, but also seriously challenged the authority of the United Nations.
Since its establishment more than 70 years ago, the United Nations, as an international organization for the maintenance of world peace and security, has been committed to resolving international disputes and safeguarding world peace through dialogue and consultation.
However, in recent years, as the international situation has become increasingly complex, the United Nations has also faced increasing challenges, and its authority and effectiveness have been questioned.
This action by Israel has undoubtedly seriously weakened the authority of the United Nations.
If the United Nations fails to respond forcefully to such blatant provocations and assert its authority, its future role and status in international affairs will be seriously affected.
What is even more worrying is that if Israel does this, other countries may follow suit. Who wants to participate in such operations if the security of peacekeeping forces is not guaranteed?
Who is willing to contribute to the maintenance of world peace? As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has been actively participating in peacekeeping operations and has made many contributions to world peace.
At present, more than 2,000 Chinese peacekeepers are serving around the world, including Chinese peacekeepers in Lebanon.
The Chinese government strongly condemned the Israel attack on the UN peacekeeping force and demanded that the UN conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a news conference that China strongly condemns the attack, expresses deep condolences to the victims, and expresses condolences to the families of the victims and the injured.
Wang Wenbin stressed that China has always firmly supported UN peacekeeping operations and highly appreciates UNIFIL's contribution to maintaining peace and stability in southern Lebanon.
China firmly opposes all attacks against United Nations peacekeepers and calls on all parties concerned to earnestly fulfil their international obligations, ensure the safety of UNIFIL personnel and support UNIFIL in carrying out its mandate by the Security Council.
Ambassador Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, also said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council that China was shocked by the attack and strongly condemned it.
China expresses its deep condolences to the UNIFIL peacekeepers who were killed or injured in the attack, expresses its deep condolences to their families, and hopes that the injured will recover soon.
Zhang Jun said that China has always strongly supported the peacekeeping work of the United Nations and particularly appreciated the efforts of UNIFIL in maintaining peace and stability in southern Lebanon.
China firmly opposes all attacks against United Nations peacekeepers and calls on all parties concerned to earnestly fulfil their international obligations, ensure the safety of UNIFIL personnel and support UNIFIL in carrying out its mandate by the Security Council.
The Chinese government's statement fully demonstrates China's firm determination and responsibility to safeguard world peace.
China will continue to firmly support the United Nations and work with the international community to uphold its authority, safeguard world peace and security, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
What kind of "guardians of peace" does the world need? Israel's brazen attack on UNIFIL is a mirror that reflects the fragility of the United Nations peacekeeping mechanism and the serious challenges facing world peace.
When the "Blue of Peace" itself is difficult to protect, and when international law is reduced to a dead letter, how should the world respond? Where does the United Nations go from here?
Immediately after this incident, the UN Security Council met and criticized Israel's actions and demanded a thorough investigation of the entire incident.
However, due to the obstruction of United States in the process, the Security Council has so far been unable to produce a substantively binding resolution, let alone impose sanctions on Israel.
This scene showed the world the powerlessness and embarrassment of the United Nations in dealing with such matters.
For a long time, the United Nations has often been powerless in maintaining international peace and security due to the shortcomings of the game between major powers and its own mechanisms.
The United Nations does not have its own army, and peacekeeping forces are mainly provided voluntarily by Member States. These soldiers vary greatly in quality and equipment, and are often overwhelmed in the face of military threats from parties to the conflict.
Second, the scope of mandates and operational rules of UN peacekeeping operations are subject to many restrictions, making it difficult to respond flexibly in complex and volatile conflict environments.
In addition, there are problems within the United Nations such as inefficiency and bureaucracy, which affect the efficiency and effectiveness of peacekeeping operations.
In the face of various difficulties, the United Nations urgently needs to carry out reform in order to better cope with the challenges in the new situation, safeguard its authority and better safeguard world peace and security.
First of all, it is necessary to strengthen the authority and leadership of the United Nations itself, improve the efficiency of decision-making, reduce unnecessary prevarication and prevarication, dare to speak out and show the sword on major international issues, and not let the veto right become a "shield" for some countries to do whatever they want.
Second, it is necessary to reform and improve the peacekeeping mechanism, give the peacekeeping forces a more flexible mandate and a stronger executive force, enhance the rapid response capability and self-defense capability of the peacekeeping forces, and strengthen the training of peacekeepers to improve their professional quality and ability to cope with complex situations.
More importantly, it is necessary to promote the building of a more just and rational international order, abandon the Cold War mentality and hegemonism, advocate a new type of international relations featuring peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and fundamentally reduce the root causes of conflicts and wars.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the largest developing country, China has always firmly upheld the international system with the UN at its core, firmly supported the central role of the UN in international affairs, actively participated in UN peacekeeping operations, and made important contributions to the maintenance of world peace and security.
China has put forward the concept of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" and encouraged all countries to work together to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world featuring lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.
This concept provides China's solutions to global problems and promotes world peace and development, and has been supported and recognized by many countries.
In the face of the intertwined changes of a century and the pandemic of the century, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, with the deficits of peace, development, security and governance intensifying, and unilateralism, protectionism and bullying on the rise.
China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, firmly pursue a defensive national defense policy, and always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order, and work with other countries to jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and create a better future for mankind.
Israel attack on UNIFIL reminds us once again that peace in the Middle East remains fragile. As a hot spot of the world's attention, the Middle East region is constantly in conflict, wars are frequent, the regional situation is complicated, and the road to peace is long and tortuous.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has always been the crux of the Middle East issue and has had a great impact on regional peace and stability for a long time. Israel's hardline policy and expansionist behavior, as well as the intervention of external forces, have made the Palestinian-Israeli peace process difficult.
In addition, there are a series of hot issues in the Middle East, such as the Syria crisis, the Yemen crisis, and the Iran nuclear issue, which are intertwined and complex, making the regional situation more volatile.
To achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East, the international community needs to work together to promote the parties concerned to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation and to seek a political solution.
First of all, it is necessary to adhere to the general direction of political settlement, push the parties concerned back to the track of dialogue and negotiation, resolve disputes through peaceful means, and oppose any form of violence.
Second, it is necessary to uphold the authority, fairness and justice of international law, and urge all parties concerned to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and earnestly fulfill their international obligations.
Third, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation and form a joint force to jointly combat terrorism, properly respond to the refugee problem, promote regional economic and social development, and eliminate the root causes of conflict and instability.
China has always been very concerned about peace in the Middle East, worked hard to help all parties engage in dialogue, and actively contributed to the settlement of regional issues.
China put forward a five-point initiative on achieving security and stability in the Middle East, and called on the international community to strengthen coordination and form a joint force to jointly promote the early realization of security, stability and lasting peace in the Middle East.
Peace and stability in the Middle East are important to the well-being of the countries and peoples of the region, as well as to peace and development throughout the world. The international community should make concerted efforts to help the Middle East achieve peace and stability as soon as possible.
Israel attack on UNIFIL is a dangerous signal that reminds us that peace does not come easily and that greater efforts are needed to preserve it.
In the face of challenges, we must not retreat, let alone give up, firmly uphold the authority of the United Nations and the international order, promote the building of more just and reasonable international relations, jointly safeguard world peace and security, and create a better future for mankind.
Reference: Burst! Israeli troops open fire on UN peacekeepers - Red Star News
The world condemns Israel's attack on the UN peacekeeping force - Globo.com