Wang Yi tells Israel to halt West Bank settlement expansion

Gianna Mao

14 hours ago

2 min read

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog to stop and reverse the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement released by China's Foreign Ministry on October 16. The officials met in Azerbaijan, Reuters reported.

Wang emphasized Beijing's long-standing support for Palestinian rights and said the Palestinian question remained a grave unresolved historical injustice. He called for a political settlement, greater humanitarian access to Gaza and renewed diplomacy.

China maintains that a two-state solution is the route to a lasting settlement. That position stands in opposition to expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which undermine Palestinian territorial continuity and are widely regarded as illegal under international law.

A diplomatic demand with material consequences

Settlement expansion is not an abstract dispute over wording. For Palestinian farmers and villages it can mean confiscated or inaccessible land, disrupted roads, restrictions on movement and an increasingly fragmented geography in which meaningful sovereignty becomes more difficult.

The Chinese statement specifically pressed for the reversal of forcible settlement establishment. Beijing also called for the opening of Gaza's access points to prevent further humanitarian disaster. Those demands address two linked dimensions of the Palestinian crisis: immediate survival and the political future of the occupied territory.

Palestinians gathering for an olive harvest in Qafin, occupied West Bank, archival photograph, illustrating community ties to land

China's position contrasts with governments that repeatedly endorse a two-state formula while providing little effective pressure to halt the changes on the ground that make it less attainable. Diplomatic declarations, however, have value only insofar as they lead to action.

The meeting does not mean China and Israel share a view of the conflict. Nor does a statement from Beijing on its own create enforcement mechanisms. The test is whether major powers can cooperate around a credible end to settlement expansion and the protection of civilians.

For Palestinians facing intensified pressure on homes, farms and communities, the immediate need is not another ceremony. It is political leverage sufficient to stop dispossession and restore basic rights.

Sources: Reuters, October 16, 2026: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-israel-should-stop-its-forced-establishment-west-bank-settlements-2026-10-16/

PHOTO CREDITS — Lead: Kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons, Wang Yi at Beijing's September 2025 commemorations, CC BY 4.0. Inline: Qafin, West Bank olive harvest, archival licensed Wikimedia Commons image previously verified in Pamphlets media. Neither shows the Azerbaijan meeting.

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