Zhang Yesui, Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations, votes for approval of the resolution calling for ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza during the United Nations Security Council meeting on Gaza crisis at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, on January 8, 2009. [Xinhua]

China on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and the comprehensive and effective implementation of the new Security Council resolution by all parties concerned.

Zhang Yesui, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, said the newly adopted resolution reflects the shared expectations and desires of the international community concerned with the current situation in Gaza.

Since the latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out on December 27, 2008, China has been supporting the Security Council in its early adoption of a resolution to call for an immediate truce in Gaza, the withdrawal of forces from the region, the opening of crossing points into Gaza, and easing of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Zhang said.

The Security Council adopted the new resolution, drafted by Britain, with 14 voting in favor and the United States abstaining after a compromise was reached between Arab foreign ministers and their Western counterparts.

Zhang also called on the international community to make joint efforts to bring all parties concerned back to the negotiation table in order to achieve a just and durable settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli problem.

More than 700 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Israeli military assaults on Gaza to retaliate for the firing of rockets into southern Israel by Hamas militants.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2009)