Israeli Foreign Ministry says China’s Ambassador to Israel, Du Wei, was found dead on yesterday morning at his residence in the city of Herzliya.
According to Israeli media, the 58-year-old envoy was discovered in his bed, and the cause of death is yet to be ascertained.
His death came less than a week after US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, visited Jerusalem, openly criticizing China’s actions on the coronavirus pandemic, as well as calling on Israeli leaders to stop signing major infrastructure and communications deals with Chinese companies.
There has been no comment yet on the ambassador’s death from the Chinese Embassy in Israel or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.
Before taking up his new post in February as Ambassador to Israel, Du Wei was China’s ambassador to Ukraine.
In an interview with Jerusalem Post in March, Du described how he had undergone a two-week home quarantine after arriving in Israel, urging all countries to work together in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
The diplomat also called for the fight against “another common enemy” – misinformation – which included accusations of China concealing relevant data on the spread of the disease.
But China has repeatedly denied such claims.
