China sided with the United Nations Security Council's decision on Thursday to call on Israel to abandon its settlement activities in East Jerusalem and West Bank, insisting that this would end the protracted violent conflict between Israel and Palestine.

The remarks came at the conclusion of the Security Council's October meeting that focused on finding a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict between Israel and its largely Sunni Arab neighbor.

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Wang Min, China's deputy representative to the United Nations, said China places a great deal of importance on Israel-Palestine relations and is concerned that Israel's continued building of settlement communities is derailing the peace process.

He added that lasting peace in the region relies on dialogue and negotiation, which could not be attained unless both sides of the conflict demonstrate political will.

Wang's statements echo Liu Jieyi's, China's permanent envoy to the United Nations, that was issued a day earlier at the Security Council meeting.

He said Israel's insistence on its settlement policies in what are internationally recognized as occupied territories is one of the major obstacles preventing the peace process in the region.

"China's position on this issue is consistent and clear," Liu said. "We are opposed to Israel's settlement activities in east Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian territories," Xinhua quoted Liu as saying.

Liu said both Israel and Palestine should consider strategic options for peace agreement, resume peace talks as soon as possible and make necessary compromises in exchange for peace.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, defends the construction activities.

He said the international community is outraged when Israel builds home in Jerusalem, but are mute when Jews are killed for living in Jerusalem.

"The hypocrisy is appalling," Prosor said.

Israel won the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the Six-Day War of 1967 and has become the focus of bitter international territorial debates that have sought to establish peace in the region since.

TagsWar Conflict, politics, Asia, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Fertile Crescent, east Jerusalem