China shows close concern over the developments in the Middle East and strongly condemns the Israeli military attack on the targets within Syria's territory, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Lu Guozeng said in Beijing Thursday.

Lu said during a meeting with some Arab envoys in China that Israel's military action violates the principles of international laws.

China firmly opposes any actions that could exacerbate the tension in the Middle East and maintains that issues in the region should be solved through peaceful negotiations on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions and the "land for peace" principle, he said.

China hopes the involved parties would exercise restraint and actively cooperate with the peace-promoting efforts from the international community to ease the tension as soon as possible, Lu said.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is willing to continue its part in working for an early resolution of the Middle East issue, Lu said.

The Arab envoys briefed Lu on the latest developments of the Middle East situation after Israel's military attack on Syria, and said Arab nations would continue their efforts to solve the Middle East issues within the UN framework.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2003)