China opposes any actions that escalate the situation in the Red Sea, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Monday.
Mao's statement came in response to a question about U.S. strikes on Yemen's Houthi group and the group's retaliatory attack against a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.
"China opposes any actions that escalate the situation in the Red Sea. The situation there and the issue of Yemen have complex causes and should be resolved through dialogue and negotiations," said Mao.
U.S. forces have launched a large-scale air and sea operation against Houthi forces in Yemen since Saturday night.
Yemen's Houthi group said it launched a retaliatory attack against the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea on Sunday in response to dozens of U.S. airstrikes on its positions.
China opposes any escalation in Red Sea tension: spokeswoman
China opposes any escalation in Red Sea tension: spokeswoman
Israel has been ratcheting up the number of settlements and annexation of the occupied West Bank and transferring its own population into the territory which constitutes a breach of international law, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.
Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented a report by the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday that outlined the ongoing transfer of powers over the Occupied Palestinian Territory from the Israeli military to the government.
According to the report, based on research between Nov 1, 2023 and Oct 31, 2024, there had been a "significant" expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
"The Government of Israel has been increasing the number of settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes. At the same time settler violence has increased with continued impunity," said Al-Kheetan.
The report also refers to plans to construct over 20,000 housing units in new or existing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem alone, according to Israeli non-governmental organizations.
In East Jerusalem, 214 Palestinian properties and structures have been demolished. Over 10,300 units within existing Israeli settlements in the rest of the West Bank are in the pipeline, and an unprecedented 49 new Israeli outposts have been established, according to the report.
"The Israeli government is facilitating the advancement of settlements in the West Bank, and the steady integration of this occupied territory into the State of Israel, the report finds. Israel's settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, and violate Palestinians' right to self-determination," said Al-Kheetan.
The spokesman added that the transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime.
Israel expands illegal settlements, annexation of West Bank: UN report
