Mr. President,

Recently, there has been an escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Recent suicide explosions inside Israel have resulted in heavy civilian casualties.  The Israeli side, however, has resorted, time and again, to an excessive use of arms, closed the Orient House by force, which homes the PLO office in East Jerusalem and, for a time, even sent troops to occupy the self-governed Palestinian City of Jenin on the West Bank of the River of Jordan, leading to the further exacerbation of the situation.  These latest developments have caused deep worries in the international community.  We support the Security Council to convene this public meeting.  The United Nations should make active efforts to end the bloodshed of the conflict between Israel and Palestine and ease the tensions in the region as early as possible.

The Chinese Delegation condemns all violent activities that lead to the escalation of the conflict and civilian casualty.  We appeal strongly to the two sides to exercise restraint and stop all forms of violence.  We call on the Israeli Government to return the Orient House and other occupied Palestinian buildings to the Palestinian side immediately.  The two sides should, with the help from the international community, implement as soon as possible relevant recommendations of the Mitchell Report and create favorable conditions for the resumption of peace talks.

In recent years, the Security Council has held discussions and adopted resolutions or presidential statements on issues such as the prevention of armed conflict and the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Now the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is escalating and the international community havs placed high expectations on the United Nations.  It is our hope that Council members will be able to make an active, practical and constructive effort, in the spirit of resolutions and presidential statements already adopted, to hold serious consultations on the grave situation of the Israeli-Palestinian violent conflict as well as necessary measures that should be immediately taken. The Council members should put aside differences, and work to achieve a consensus as soon as possible so as to send a strong message to both sides of the conflict and the entire international community that violence must be stopped and tensions eased.

The Security Council has already carried out many discussions on the issue of sending international observers to the region.  The idea has gained more and more attention and support from the international community.  We hope that the Israeli side will respond positively to the appeal and advice from the international community and take this recommendation into earnest consideration.  Faced with the serious situation where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is getting worse and worse, we believe that efforts from third parties, especially from those with influence on both sides of the conflict, are indispensable to make the two sides cool down, stop violence and come back to the negotiation table. This is clear to every outsider.  We also believe that, as a UN body that shoulders the prime responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, it is only right and natural for the Security Council to pay close attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  We also support the Secretary-General to continue to play an active role on this issue.

Thank you, Mr. President.