BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhuanet) -- China will support, as always,
the just cause of the Palestinians to restore their legal rights,
a senior official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
   Yang Wenchang, vice foreign minister, reaffirmed China's stance
on the Middle East issue in a meeting with the envoys from the 22
nations of the League of Arab States (LAS).
   He said that China is anxious and deeply concerned about Israel
's recent military action against Palestine, which has caused
great casualties and property loss on the Palestinian side.
   China condemns Israel's military attacks, its economic blockade
of Palestine, and abhors its act of limiting the freedom of
movement of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and of destroying
his headquarters and official buildings in Gaza and Nablus.
   China holds that Israel's action is of no help to settling the
current problems, and will only lead to the deterioration of the
situation, he said.
   Yang noted that the Chinese government is calling upon the
Israeli government to cooperate with the international community
by promoting peace, stopping its military action and negotiating
with Palestine to solve the disputes peacefully. Enditem