China on Monday stated that it gave full backing to the
legitimate power held by President Mahmoud Abbas and the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA), whilst urging Palestinian
forces to halt the violence.
"The Chinese government respects the legitimate status of
President Abbas and the Palestinian National Authority," said
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.
Qin said China "strongly urges Palestinian factions to set aside
their conflicts and solve their concerns through dialogue and
consultations in order to safeguard the fundamental interests of
the Palestinian people."
The 12th Palestinian government, created in a state of
emergency, was sworn in before President Abbas in the West Bank
city of Ramallah on Sunday, replacing the previous unity government
led by Hamas.
Abbas sacked the Hamas-led government on Thursday following
attacks by Hamas militia on Palestinian Authority facilities in
Gaza, a move deemed by Abbas to have been a coup d'etat.
Independent Salam Fayyad was then asked to set up the emergency
government one day after Abbas' decision to dismantle the unity
government, which took office on March 17.
However, Hamas rejected Abbas' decision to sack the unity
government, considering the new authority as "illegitimate."
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2007)