China backs Arab states' efforts to ease Gaza tensions

 China backs the mediation efforts made by Egypt and other Arab states as well as the League of Arab States (LAS) to ease the current situation in Gaza, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday.

Hua made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a question on whether China plans to send envoys to the Middle East to act as mediators in the ongoing conflict.

"China is paying great attention to the situation in the Gaza Strip," Hua told reporters.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi talked with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr over the phone about the situation there, expressing China's support for Egypt and other Arab states as well as the LAS, she said.

"We will continue to make unremitting efforts to mitigate the situation between Palestine and Israel and maintain peace and stability in the region in our own way," she said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are both in Israel. Ban met with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday, while Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday night.

Hua said China has maintained close contact with Israel, Palestine and other relevant parties. "We urge parties concerned, Israel, in particular, to show maximum restraint, reach a ceasefire as soon as possible and avoid taking any actions to escalate the situation," she said.

The spokeswoman said China supports necessary actions taken by the international community, including the UN Security Council.

Also on Wednesday, Hua announced that Bassam al-Salhi, the Palestinian president's special envoy as well as secretary-general of the Palestinian People's Party, will visit China from Thursday to Saturday.

As for the agenda of the upcoming visit, Hua said the details are still being arranged.

According to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health, 130 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip since last Wednesday, with more than 1,000 others wounded.

Meanwhile, Israel has reported that five Israelis have been killed in Palestinian rocket attacks