China tells ICJ that Palestinians have the right to armed struggle

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

Senior Chinese official Ma Xinmin told the International Court of Justice on Thursday that China believes Palestinians have the right to engage in armed struggle because they live under an illegal Israeli occupation.

Israeli policies in occupied territories have violated international humanitarian law, said the official, who was speaking on the fourth day of hearings into the legality of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories acquired in 1967.

“The Palestinian people fight against Israeli oppression and their struggle for completing establishment of an independent state in the occupied territories are essentially just actions for restoring their legitimate rights,” said Mr Ma, who is director general of the department of treaty and law at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He told the panel of 15 judges in The Hague that armed struggle was distinct from acts of terrorism. “During legitimate armed struggle, all parties are obliged to comply to international humanitarian law and in particularly refrain from committing acts of terrorism,” he said.

China's support of Palestinian armed struggle was not echoed by other countries despite many of them displaying critical opinions of Israel's occupation since hearings started on Monday.

The highly political hearings are scheduled to continue until February 26 due to the record number of countries – over 50 – that have asked to give an oral statement.

The court will then issue a non-binding advisory opinion which is expected to take up to six months.

Ireland, which was represented by Attorney General Rossa Fanning, said Israel had committed “serious breaches” of international law during its five decade-long occupation of Palestinian territories.

In addition to encouraging settlers to move illegally to occupied territories, Israel has applied domestic law in illegal settlements and transferred administration in certain areas from military to civilian control.

In its continuing war on Gaza, which has killed more than 29,400 Palestinians, Israel has “exceeded” its right to the use of force in self-defence following Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, said Mr Fanning.

“This is manifest from the spiralling death toll, the extensive destruction of property including homes throughout Gaza, the displacement of up to two million people and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell towards the Gaza Strip from a position near the Israel-Gaza border. AP

Around 1,200 people died during the Hamas attacks. The group also took back to Gaza about 240 hostages, of whom 100 were released and 30 are believed to have died.

The war in Gaza is unrelated to the current ICJ hearings, which are linked to a request made in 2022 by the UN General Assembly.

But most countries have referred to the conflict during their intervention as an important backdrop to discuss the occupation of Palestinian territories, which include Gaza.

Jordan and Iraq harshly condemned Israel's actions.

“Palestinians are being killed in the hundreds every day in Gaza and in the West Bank because Israel is not being held accountable of its war crimes and violations of international law,” said Jordan's Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi.

Mr Safadi called on the court to “rule that this brutality can be no more”. “The source of all evil must end,” he said.

Hayder Shiya Al Barrak, head of the legal department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Iraq, asked the court “to stop the systematic killing machine against the Palestinian people”.

Israel did not request to speak during the hearings – a position that Ireland “very much regrets”, said Mr Fanning. It has submitted a written statement which has not been made public.

But Israel's strongest ally, the US, insisted during its intervention on Israel's right to self-defence.

“We were all reminded of those security needs on October 7 and they persist. Regrettably those needs have been ignored by many of the participants,” said Richard Visek, acting legal adviser for the US Department of State, on Wednesday.

For China, the right of an occupying power to self-defence hinges on the legitimacy of its occupation.

However, “this does not rule out the possibility for the occupying power … as a last resort to take necessary law enforcement measures against individuals or entities in the occupied territories,” said Mr Ma. “These acts must stay within the limits cited by international law.”

Mr Fanning reiterated Ireland’s belief that all countries should refrain from supporting Israel’s occupation. This includes a call for the EU, to which Ireland belongs, to review its trade agreement with Israel due to suspicions of human rights breaches.

In a letter to the European Commission sent on February 14, Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez asked that the EU review the trade agreement.

But such a decision would have to be taken unanimously by the bloc's 27 member states – a move that remains highly unlikely due to deep divisions over the Middle Eastern conflict.

Palestinians recover a body from the rubble of a destroyed house following Israeli air strikes, in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip. EPA

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Fireball

Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.

A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.

"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.

If you go

The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.