China opposes Israeli plan to build new Jewish settlements

China firmly opposes Israeli government's recent plan to build Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday.

Qin made the remarks in response to a question on the expansion of Israeli settlements at a regular news briefing.

Israel announced earlier this week that it had given the greenlight to a project to construct 1,600 new homes in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem and 112 apartments in the West Bank.

As Palestine and Israel are at the crucial stage of resuming indirect talks, Israel's move would put the foundation of peaceful talks at peril and damage international efforts in this regard, Qin said.

"China urges the Israeli side to immediately stop building the Jewish settlements and make real efforts to revive the talks," said Qin.

Israel's announcement also drew strong condemnation from the international community.

The Palestinian side on Thursday said that it has decided to put the talks on hold until Israel rescinds the East Jerusalem plan.

Source:Xinhua