*BEIJING: China on Tuesday called for restraint, “especially” from Israel,after 59 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during clashes andprotests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem.*

“China is seriously concerned about the large number of casualties causedby the violent conflict in the Gaza border,” foreign ministry spokesman LuKang told a regular press briefing.

“We oppose violence against civilians. We call on both sides, especiallyIsrael, to maintain restraint and avoid further tension and escalation ofthe situation,” Lu said.

The spokesman reiterated Beijing’s support for a two-state solution, withthe establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with EastJerusalem as its capital.

“China has always believed that the final status of Jerusalem should befinally settled through peace talks between Palestine and Israel inaccordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations,” Lu said.

Fresh protests were expected on Tuesday as Palestinians mark the Nakba, or“catastrophe,” commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled orwere expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

It comes a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy fromTel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem in a move that infuriated thePalestinians and was widely condemned.

Most of the 59 Gazans who died Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza’shealth ministry said.

At least 2,400 others were wounded in the bloodiest day in theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war. – APP/AFP