Chinese Special Envoy for the Middle East Issue Gong Xiaosheng speaks on a press conference in Cairo, capital of Egypt, on May 31, 2018. Gong Xiaosheng said in Cairo that Palestine and Israel should stop bloody conflict, as the political settlement is the only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)
CAIRO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Special Envoy for the Middle East Issue Gong Xiaosheng said in Cairo that Palestine and Israel should stop bloody conflict, as the political settlement is the only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Gong expressed deep concerns over the severe situation in Palestine, adding that China has always called for the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute through peaceful negotiations.
Gong was concluding a regional tour that took him to Palestine, Israel and Egypt, during which he had an "in-depth" exchange of views on the latest tension between Palestine and Israel and other hot issues in the Middle East with officials of the three countries.
"China will play a bigger and more positive role in promoting peace in the Middle East to ease and stabilize the situation," Gong said.
The international community should continue to uphold the two-state solution and work constructively on a political solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, he said.
"Palestine, Israel and Egypt all welcome China's latest efforts in promoting peace in the Middle East," Gong pointed out.
Meanwhile, the Chinese envoy hailed Egypt's "irreplaceable" role in promoting peace in the Middle East, stressing that China will continue consultation and coordination with Egypt to achieve peace in the region.
On Tuesday, Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, and the Islamic Jihad group, claimed responsibility for firing barrages of mortars and rockets from the coastal enclave into Israel in response to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and their fighters.
Israeli war jets also launched intensive airstrikes on the military facilities of the two groups across Gaza.
At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since March 30, the first day of the ongoing Palestinian anti-Israel "Great March of Return" rally.
The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has continued since the Western-backed creation of Israel by occupying Palestinian territories in 1948.
The deadlock of the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis is largely attributed to Israel's settlement expansion policy, which is rejected even by its strongest ally the United States.
The U.S. recently moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem despite regional and international outcry, after President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last December.
The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital along the pre-1967 borders in the light of the UN-proposed two-state solution.