THEY Big Mad THEY Can't Cancel China...,

nikkei  |  Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has blamed the rapidly worsening conflict in the Middle East on a lack of justice for the Palestinian people, days after the militant group Hamas carried out a deadly assault on Israeli territory.

"The crux of the issue lies in the fact that justice has not been done to the Palestinian people," Beijing's top diplomat said in a phone call with Brazil's Celso Amorim, a former foreign minister and now a special adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. A statement on the call was released by Wang's ministry.

The call came just ahead of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday to discuss the Israel-Hamas war. Brazil, a nonpermanent member, is chairing the council this month.

Wang urged all parties in the Middle East to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation. He added that the United Nations has a responsibility and duty to play a role in the Palestinian issue, and China is ready to cooperate closely with various parties, including Brazil.

Amid an outpouring of Western support for Israel after Hamas' weekend onslaught killed over 1,300 people, Beijing has maintained a relatively neutral position, lamenting civilian casualties but not condemning Hamas. Soon after the initial attack, it called for an immediate cease-fire and repeated its support for a two-state solution that would create an independent Palestinian homeland.

But the comment by Wang on how China sees the root cause of the problem appeared to mark a hardening of its stance amid heavy Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and talk of a possible ground operation to dislodge Hamas, which controls the strip.

Earlier this year, China positioned itself as a potential mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, as it seeks to become a more influential player in the region.