China hails Gaza ceasefire agreement

BEIJING - China on Thursday welcomed the Gaza ceasefire agreement and condemned the bus bombing on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

Hua made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to questions regarding the recent bus blast in Israel and the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

China opposes all forms of terrorism and condemns any action that hurts innocent civilians, Hua said, adding that the Chinese side urges relevant parties in both Israel and Palestine to stop using violence so as to avoid escalating tensions again in the region.

China welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and relevant parties in Palestine and expressed appreciation for the mediation efforts from the international community, especially Egypt, the spokeswoman said.

"We hope relevant parties implement the ceasefire agreement earnestly so as to avoid more conflicts," Hua said.

The fundamental cause of the conflict lies in the long-stalled Palestine-Israel peace talks, she said.

"The international community should attach more importance to the issue in order to make more contributions to reviving the peace talks," Hua said.

When asked a question regarding Palestine's status bid in the United Nations, Hua said China supports Palestine to be established as a country with East Jerusalem as its capital and in possession of full sovereignty and independence, in accordance with borders agreed upon in 1967.

"China understands, respects and supports Palestine on the issue concerning its state observer status at the United Nations," Hua told reporters at the news briefing.

Earlier reports said that a suicide bombing occurred on a bus in Tel Aviv early on Wednesday, injuring at least 13 people. The incident occurred amid a wave of renewed violence between Israel and Hamas that began on November 14.

It was announced that Israel and Hamas had reached a ceasefire agreement early Thursday Beijing time, the reports said.