I authored an article in early April 2024 “China’s Support of Hamas: Evidence and Actions” for the Jewish Policy Center’s quarterly inFOCUS Quarterly (Spring 2024). That article caused a stir among “China watchers” and academics. This article will also cause another stir in an analogous manner because it reveals some information that many media outlets and academics failed to see or did not amalgamate the supportive relationships among China, Hamas, and the Muslim world. This article will examine China’s involvement in the meetings of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League prior to and after the 7 October terrorist attack against Israel.
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
Many are aware the OIC (with 56 UN member states plus the “State of Palestine”) is the second largest international organization after the United Nations. It is less known that the OIC, represented by their respective heads of state, has declared Jihad against the State of Israel at least twice since 1969, the year the OIC was created.
In 1981, during the OIC’s Third Islamic Conference, the Mecca Declaration stated the following:
- “The Kings, Emirs, and Heads of State of Islamic countries have agreed to declare holy Jihad for salvaging AL QUDS AL SHARIF, supporting the Palestinian people and bringing about Israeli withdrawal from occupied Arab territories.”
In 1987, the OIC leadership again declared a Jihad again against Israel during the Fifth Islamic Conference:
- “…Reiterates that the question of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif takes priority over all other questions for all Muslims, that Jihad for the liberation of Al-Quds, the deliverance of Al-Aqsa Mosque and victory of the Palestinian people is an individual religious obligation on all Muslims, so that each should contribute what he can in fulfilling it, seeking Allah’s satisfaction, and a duty imposed by Islamic Fraternity, for the vindication of right and the removal of evil.”
Similarly, the Arab League (with seven countries in 1945 and now having 22 countries) also has a sordid history with Israel. Recall that all seven of the Arab League countries (the Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Republic, Transjordan (Jordan from 1949), and North Yemen (later becoming Yemen) invaded Israel in 1948. On 14 May 1948, the head of the Arab League Secretary, General Azzam Pasha, declared war against Israel and all Jews in Arab League countries: “It will be a war of annihilation. It will be a momentous massacre in history that will be talked about like the massacres of the Mongols or the Crusades.”
I was curious to see what the OIC and the Arab League did prior to and after the 7 October terrorist attack. I discovered that the culmination of these meetings was the Beijing Declaration on 23 July 2024. The PRC Foreign Ministry and CCP did plenty of planning and coordinating for the Beijing Declaration. China’s involvement with the Palestinian factions and with the OIC and the Arab League reveals a new shift in the new Cold War.
Key Events Before October 7, 2023
1988: China recognizes the State of Palestine.
18 July 2017: Abbas awards the highest Palestinian medal to Xi for China’s support for Palestine.
29 December 2020: Hamas and other terrorist groups practice the first of four “Strong Pillar” invasion exercises.
26 December 2021: Hamas and other terrorist groups practice the second “Strong Pillar” invasion exercise.
13 October 2022: Algeria Declaration of National Reconciliation
- The UN Secretary General announced “the signing on 13 October of the Declaration of Algiers by 14 Palestinian factions as a positive step towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation.” He also greatly appreciated the assistance “of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria and, notably, of President Abdelmajid Tebboune.”
- The General Secretariat of the OIC “welcomed the signing by the [14] Palestinian factions of the Algeria Declaration of National Reconciliation, considering that this is an important and positive step on the road to ending the division and restoring the national unity of the Palestinian people.”
- “The OIC also expressed its appreciation to the Republic of Algeria for sponsoring and hosting this dialogue…”
6 December 2022: China and Palestine sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) “on Matters of Common Interest under the Joint Construction of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative” (BRI).
7-10 December 2022: First China-Arab [League] States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit occurred in Riyadh, Saidi Arabia. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the two summits and visited Saudi Arabia to meet with the Saudi leadership, sign a $30 billion trade deal.
28 December 2022: Hamas and other terrorist groups practice the third “Strong Pillar” invasion exercise.
10 March 2023: Joint Trilateral Statement by the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran (Beijing, PRC) highlights include:
- This statement affirmed that Iran and Saudi Arabia would re-establish diplomatic relations and respect each other’s internal affairs.
- “In response to the noble initiative of His Excellency President Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, of China’s support for developing good neighborly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran…”
- “Adhering to the principles and objectives of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and international conventions and norms…”
- OIC General Secretariat welcomes Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Agreement to resume Diplomatic Relations. He praised the leadership of the People Republic of China for sponsoring the talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran thus enabling their success.
14 June 2023: President Xi Jinping held talks at the Great Hall of the People with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who was on a state visit to China and announced the “Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the State of Palestine on Establishing a Strategic Partnership.”
31 July 2023: 18th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) noted the following two items of interest:
- Appreciates the “Algeria Declaration” … to end division and achieve reconciliation as a positive step towards national unity, expresses deep appreciation to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria for sponsoring the talks, and appreciates the unremitting efforts made by the President of the Republic of Algeria, Mr. Abdel Majid Tebboune for the success of this historic endeavor.
- Calls on the Islamic Group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to intensify its efforts at the level of international organizations and take the necessary measures to force Israel, the colonial occupying power, to stop all its violations and illegal measures in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
17 August 2023: High-Level Delegation from OIC Member States and OIC General Secretariat visits China.
- According to the OIC website, “[D]uring the delegation’s visit, they met with the Deputy Minister of the Unified Action Front Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The meeting discussed the strategic partnership between the OIC, its Member States, and the People’s Republic of China.”
12 September 2023: Hamas and other terrorist groups practice the fourth “Strong Pillar” invasion exercise.
After October 7, 2023
11 November 2023: Joint Arab [League] Islamic [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] Extraordinary Summit On Israeli Aggression Against the Palestinian People (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
A month after Hamas and its terrorist allies slaughtered Israels and non-Israeli citizens from 41 countries in Israel on 7 October, the OIC and the Arab League met in Riyadh Saudia, Arabia to set a plan of action against Israel. This meeting was the first time that the Arab League and the OIC had combined meeting.
Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (allowed back into the Arab League in 2023), attended. Below are highlights of their resolution (the English translations of the OIC resolution and the Arab League resolution are similar):
- “Confirming all the resolutions of the Organization [OIC] and the [Arab] League regarding the Palestinian Cause and all the occupied Arab territories…” (In other words, the OIC re-affirms the declarations of jihad against Israel approved at the OIC Third and Fifth Summits.)
- “Demand that all countries stop exporting weapons and ammunitions.”
- Request the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity (committed by Israel).
- “Establish two specialized legal monitoring units to document the Israeli crimes committed in the Gaza Strip …” (Samples are found here).
- Pursue Israeli officials “for their crimes against the Palestinian people” for the International Court of Justice…”
- Request the “Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to investigate into Israel’s use of chemical weapons…”
- “Call on the Palestinian factions and forces to unite under its umbrella and to assume their responsibilities within a national partnership led by the Palestine Liberation Organization…” (Key statement related to the Beijing Declaration]
- Convene “an international peace conference, as soon as possible” including the “land for peace” principle, within a specific time limit and with international guarantees, leading to an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967” … “and the implementation of the two-state solution.”
Although the Islamic countries agreed with the final wording of the joint resolution, some Muslim countries called for a total cut in diplomatic ties; Algeria and Iran led this group. Other countries like Bahrain and the UAE, members of the Abraham Accords, rejected this path. Tehran also attempted to designate the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a terrorist organization similar to the terrorist designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and the US, but this was also rejected.
20 November 2023: Ministerial Committee Mandated by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit meets with Chinese Foreign Minister (Beijing, PRC)
21 November 2023: Ministerial Committee Mandated by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit holds meeting with Vice-President of China (Beijing, China)
- “…members of the Ministerial Committee commended the positions taken by China with regard to the crisis in Gaza, which are aligned with the Arab and Islamic positions.”
24 February 2024: Extraordinary Session of Islamic Conference of Information Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye)
- “Provide support for the OIC Media Monitoring Unit to organize a media workshop to accomplish its mission as stipulated by the joint Arab and Islamic Summit held in Riyadh on 11 November 2023.”
29 February – 2 March 2024: Palestinian groups met in Russia and “provided a venue for the meeting between delegates from factions within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including the Fatah movement, as well as participants from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group. In all, envoys from more than 10 organizations have arrived in Moscow for the meeting.”
5 March 2024: The Extraordinary Session of The Council of Foreign Ministers of The Member States of The OIC to consider the continuing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian People (Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The meeting was held at the request of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Palestine, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Islamic Republic of Iran.
Key points discussed in this meeting were:
- Asserts “all the [OIC] resolutions adopted by the OIC regarding the issue of Palestine and the Holy City of Al-Quds…” (reaffirms the declarations of Jihad during the OIC’s Third and Fifth Summit)
- Calls for Israel’s membership in international organizations, particularly in the United Nations, to be suspended.
- “Appreciates the efforts of the Islamic Group within the UN Security Council, specifically the distinguished efforts of the United Arab Emirates and the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the current member in the Security Council, to stop the Israeli barbaric aggression against the Palestinian people…”
- “Calls on the Islamic groups in capitals and international organizations to take immediate action to convey the OIC position to the capitals of world countries…”
17 March 2024: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met PRC Ambassador to Qatar, Cao Xiaolin and Foreign Ministry envoy Wang Kejian in Qatar. Ambassador Cao noted that “the close and historic relationship between the Palestinian and Chinese peoples and China’s firm positions towards the Palestinian issue and its standing by the just demands of the Palestinian people for freedom, independence, and statehood.”
30 April 2024: The PRC Foreign Ministry announced that Hamas and Fatah representatives held “in-depth and candid dialogue” in Beijing to promote reconciliation. Hamas and Fatah agreed to continue the dialogue again in Beijing in June.
5 May 2024: 15th OIC Islamic Summit (Banjul, The Gambia) attended by “their Majesties, Excellencies, and Highnesses, heads of states, and governments of the OIC member States, and high-level dignitaries from non-member states.” The following are noted highlights:
- The Secretary-General emphasized that the Palestinian cause remains the OIC’s central issue.
- The 15th Islamic Summit Conference was addressed by several dignitaries including the Special Envoy of the President of China.
- At the end of the two-day conference, the 15th Islamic Summit is expected to adopt a special resolution on the issue of Palestine and Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, a comprehensive communique, and the Banjul Declaration.
- The following are relevant highlights of the Banjul Declaration: “Urge our Palestinian brothers and sisters to unite in their struggle to achieve their objectives, under the banner of the Palestine Liberation Organization the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
16 May 2024: The Arab League conducted a summit in Manama, Bahrain and produced the “Bahrain Declaration” which was similar to the OIC and Arab League original joint statement on 11 November 2023, but also included the following new elements:
- Calls “for the deployment of United Nations international protection and peacekeeping forces in the occupied Palestinian territory until the two-state solution is implemented.” (We know how useless UN Peacekeeping forces have done in Lebanon)
- “We call on all Palestinian factions to join together under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and to agree on a comprehensive national project …” (This reiterates that all Palestinian factions should unite which leads to the “Beijing Declaration”)
16-17 May 2024: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin’s met in Beijing and vowed to deepen their strategic partnership. They issued a 8,000-word joint statement outlining their shared view on issues from Taiwan, to Ukraine, to the war in Gaza and other topics: they “discussed the need to achieve an immediate settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to resolve the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution and in keeping with the UN resolution.”
30 May 2024: President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, PRC). According to the PRC MFA website, “China firmly supports the establishment of an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. It supports Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations, and supports a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference… Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied, the United Arab Emirates’ President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit of the League of Arab States delivered remarks.”
18 June – 2 July 2024: The PRC Ministry of National Defense hosted a series of seminars for senior military officers from China and Arab States at the PLA National Defense University (Beijing, PRC). The officers attended the two-week “Future-oriented China-Arab Security Cooperation” course focused on the CCP’s Global Security Initiative.
25 June 2024: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his senior military officers met with their PLA counterparts. Al Saud met with Defense Minister Dong Jun and Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission (Beijing, PRC)
29 June 2024: The 22-nation Arab League dropped its designation of Hezbollah as a terror organization. As tensions rise between Hezbollah and Israel, this change could reflect the notion that the Arab League will intervene in Lebanon if Israel attacks Hezbollah since Lebanon is part of the Arab League. Additionally, the change could also reflect a new sense of confidence from Chinese and Russian future support of the next month’s Beijing Declaration.
3 July 2024: President Xi Jinping met again with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting (Astana, Kazakhstan).
23 July 2024: “Beijing Declaration” is signed at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing, PRC. The Palestinian factions decided to continue the implementation of their previous agreements to end their division with the help of Egypt, Algeria, China, and Russia. Previous Palestinian agreements included references to the EU and the US, not this one.
According to an several unconfirmed sources, the agreement noted:
- “Based on the National Accord Agreement signed in Cairo on 5/4/2011 and the Algiers Declaration signed on 10/12/2022, we will continue to follow up on the implementation of the agreements to end the division with the help of our sisters Egypt and Algeria and our friends in the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.”
- They will “work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
- They have the right to “resist and end occupation.”
2026: Second China-Arab League States Summit will be held in China.
What does all of this mean?
The four Abraham Accord countries (UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan) normalized relations with Israel during the Trump administration—truly a miracle considering the chaos that characterized US politics at the time. All four countries were represented at the OIC summits and voted in favor of the OIC resolutions.
Iran, Qatar, and Turkey are ardent supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic revolution. Their goal for Israel’s destruction is evident in their many denunciations of Israel. And their support is well known for terror proxies including Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iraqi groups, IRGC-QF, ISIS, and Boko Haram.
Recall that Russia became an official OIC observer in 2005. My previous article highlighted China’s direct involvement with Hamas. Some unconfirmed sources have provided with me information that implicate China’s role in supporting Hamas via Algeria, especially with weapons. Algeria’s prominent role in sharp rhetoric against Israel supports the argument that they are deeply involved with Hamas and China’s efforts in the Middle East.
China has been continuously involved with the OIC and has supported its extreme positions. China’s votes in the UN General Assembly and in the UN Security Council have clearly been anti-Israel.
My previous article highlighted China’s covert military training, supply of weapons and technical tunneling assistance to Hamas. Some sources provided me information that China sent weapons to Hamas via Algeria. Algeria’s prominent role in excoriating Israel is consistent with the hypothesis that Algeria helps China provide covert aid to Hamas. Egypt’s role in countenancing extensive smuggling operations involving weapons, construction equipment, and construction material, and supporting Hamas during mediation also bears scrutiny.
The Future
During the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York from 10–24 September, the Arab League and the OIC will conduct a full-court press against Israel. These actions will place Israel in an untenable diplomatic position: to accept an infeasible two-state solution or suffer global censure and diplomatic, economic, trade, educational, and cultural isolation. In other words, the OIC and the Arab League want to remove Israel from the UN just as Taiwan is forced to be treated as a pariah state when it was replaced by the PRC; they want to replace the State of Israel with the State of Palestine.
OIC declarations and leaked information suggests that the Chinese, the Russians, and the OIC countries will push hard for a disastrous two-state “solution” in which elections would be held in Gaza and the West Bank. Recall that Hamas overwhelmingly won legislative election in 2006 (74 Hamas seats versus 45 Fatah seats out of 132 seats). Abbas cancelled presidential elections after his four-year term ended in 2009 for fear of Hamas beating him.
Concluding Remarks
Just as the Oslo Accords allowed terrorist groups to hid under the skirt of the PLO (the PLO consists of ten groups) and diminish their terrorist profile, the Beijing Declaration will force Israel to sit again across the table with those who murdered, ordered, or celebrated the murder of Israelis and 41 non-Israeli nationals from other countries and who tortured and abused over 250 hostages. This situation is being promoted by China, Russia, OIC, Arab League, and others.
Although many Israeli scholars, businesses, and politicians seek friendly diplomatic relations and extensive trade with China, it is time for Israel to pause its relationship with the PRC. Israel should shift away from its dependency on the Chinese Communist teat which contains poison concocted to destroy Israel. PRC access to petroleum and trade with OIC nations far exceeds the value of PRC’s trade with Israel. The Palestinian narrative of victimhood aligns with the PRC narratives of the “100 years of humiliation,” which reinforces the trade and economic incentives of allying with OIC states. Consequently, the PRC will continue to service the OIC’s obsession with Israel’s annihilation.
The planned Israeli elimination coincides with Russia’s and China’s coalition (OIC/Arab League, North Korea, and others) of countries that intend to remove democracies from their regions, including Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
