The Heat: China’s role in Mideast peace process

The Heat

Israel and Palestine flags

For decades now, the Israelis and Palestinians have been engaged in a conflict with no apparent solution in sight.

The United States has tried for years to broker a lasting peace agreement between the two sides but so far it has been unsuccessful.  

Palestinians took to the streets in protest last month after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and signaled plans to move the U.S. embassy there.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared that he will no longer accept any plan put forward by the U.S. accusing it of being,“a dishonest mediator in the peace process.”  But, can China play a role in reviving the peace talks that collapsed in 2014? Late last month a delegation of Palestinians and Israelis met with Chinese officials in Beijing as part of a Peace Symposium aimed at moving things forward.

To discuss all of this:

  • Dan Arbell, a scholar in residence at the Center for Israeli Studies, American University
  • Victor Gao, an international relations expert and analyst
  • Abdelhamid Siyam, a former U.N. spokesperson and professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Rutgers University
  • Geoffrey Aronson, an analyst on Middle East affairs and chairman of the Morton’s Group, a Middle East consultancy firm

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