People hold a demonstration in front of the United States Embassy to Malaysia to protest against the US support for Israel's continued military attacks on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 9, 2009. [Xinhua Photo]

Mr Allouh also highlighted the political aspect of the problem: "Israel has its own agenda – and that is the upcoming election. What are they accomplishing at the moment? Nothing but the killing and massacring of large numbers of innocent people in order to win an election." He vows that the Palestinian Authority will make a case against Israel in the international courts for genocidal attacks on civilians – a case that is borne out by calls from the UN that Israel should be investigated for war crimes over the shelling of a house full of Palestinian civilians that left dozens dead. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports that four infants were found clinging to their dead mothers after 48 hours in the rubble.

Asked about his expectations from the new American government under Barack Osama, Mr Allouh was able to sound more positive: "We have requested that he engage in a peace process as soon as possible and he has promised to do so. He has made a promise to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, to get the peace process back on schedule. When Mr Obama takes over as President he will start immediately to work on the problem and not waste time as Mr Bush has done. For our part, we will emphasise that the only way forward to peace is through a solution that gives statehood to Palestine."

Mr Allouh went on to respond to the question whether it would be more difficult for the Palestinians to present a united front in peace negotiations, should current events in fact serve to strengthen Hamas in Gaza. He acknowledged that the Palestinians have their own internal problems to resolve, but expressed himself confident that common ground will be found to ensure that any discussions will be meaningful. He pointed out that Hamas have accepted that the PLO should represent the Palestinians in their negotiations, and that President Mubarak of Egypt is also acting as a mediator in the attempt to resolve any outstanding difficulties.

The Ambassador concluded by expressing his thanks to the government and the people of China for their help and support: "We are grateful for the help of China. We have friends here, and this country has helped us in our struggle since the 1960s. China has provided us with economic help, with commercial help, and with help in many forms of teaching and training. Only recently they have provided 80 million yuan (US$11.7 million) for development, and a further one million in US dollars. On December 3, 2008 we signed an agreement under which China will help us to build a People's Hall and International Conference Centre in Gaza. This is a country that has a special envoy for Palestine."

"China has clean hands," he concluded. "This country has never been an occupying force. We always believe that we have the support of China in our fight. We send the regards and the thanks of our leadership and of our people for this help, and we hope we may always count on it."

(China.org.cn January 10, 2009)