China says recurrent tragedies avoidable if Palestinians given justice

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Tuesday said denying Palestinians justice was resulting in recurrent tragedies like the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

China’s deputy Foreign Minister Hua Chunying called for an end to more than 70 years of "historical injustice” to Palestinians.

Marking Nakba Day, Hua tweeted “had more importance and justice been given to the Palestinians, the tragedy of Shireen Abu Akleh could have been avoided.”

Observed on May 15 annually, the Nakba Day, or the Catastrophe Day, marks the 1948 forced expulsion of nearly 800,000 Palestinians from their homes by Zionist gangs in historical Palestine.

This year, Nakba Day was observed four days after Abu Akleh was killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Palestinian officials and her employer, Al Jazeera, say she was murdered by Israeli forces.

Many governments and international organizations have sought a transparent probe into the killing of Abu Akleh.

UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese called the killing "a potential war crime."