Interesting less for what it says about China and the Middle East (which is mostly pretty obvious) than for the open questioning of the Chinese non-interference sacred cow. China has been visibly uneasy since its unwillingness to run counter to Arab League opinion led it to abstain on rather than veto the SC resolution on Libya, and is certainly feeling similarly uneasy on Syria now. But I don"t think the pressure is yet nearly enough to shift the long-established non-interference doctrine, especially at a time when the leadership is soon to change in Beijing.
I don"t think the author is right to regard Chinese relations with Israel as a function of Sino-US relations. The Chinese are still very careful when it comes to their relations with the US, but they have never felt it necessary to make friends with other parties merely because they are friends of the US. Part of it is certainly related to maintaining a (relatively) neutral position on Middle East questions. But China also has its own agenda with Israel, mostly related to the acquisition of advanced technology, and as a back door to US technology which might be difficult to acquire directly.