China welcomes and supports all efforts and measures that would break the current deadlock of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiation and relaunch their dialogues, Chinese UN ambassador Li Baodong said Tuesday.

Li made the remarks when addressing a Security Council monthly open debate on Middle East.

"The Middle East peace process is currently in a stalemate. China is deeply concerned over the development," Li said.

"We always maintain that the parties concerned should resolve their disputes through political negotiations under the relevant UN resolutions, the principle of 'land for peace,' the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East Roadmap for Peace with the goal of ultimately establishing an independent Palestinian state and two states,Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace," he said.

China appreciates the efforts made recently by Jordan and Quartet of Middle East to facilitate the two parties to have direct contact, said Li, adding "We hope the relevant peace promotion efforts will help resume the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiation sooner and achieve substantive result. China supports a greater role of the UN in resolving the Middle East issue."

Calling the Israeli settlement "a major obstacle" for the resumption of Palestinian-Israel peace negotiation, Li said China is seriously concerned about the recent approval by the Israeli government of plans for expansion of new settlements.

"China is always against Israeli establishment of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem. We urge Israel to cease the settlement construction immediately, be prudent in action and work actively in collaboration with the efforts of the international community to promote peace, and create conditions for the resumption Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiation," the ambassador said.

China has always supported the Palestinian people in their just cause to restore the lawful rights of the nation, and maintained that establishment of an independent state is the lawful right of the Palestinian people as the basis for the implementation of the "two-state solution"

"China supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that enjoys full sovereignty, with East Jerusalem as its capital and based on the 1967 border. China supports Palestine's membership in the United Nation," Li said.

The Syria-Israel track and the Lebanon-Israel track are important component of the Middle East peace process, and play an indispensable role in the overall settlement of the Middle East issue, Li said.

China firmly supports the just cause of Syria and Lebanon to maintain sovereignty and territorial integrity, and recover their occupied territoriesChina supports the strategic choice made by Arab states in their pursuit of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region, Li added.

He also called on relevant parties to keep constrained, avoid the escalation of tension in Gaza, effectively implement relevant UN resolutions and fully lift the Gaza blockade.

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