The core of the Middle East issue was the Palestine problem, and the international community should work together to prevent fights from resuming, Sun Bigan, Chinese special envoy for the Middle East, said?in Beijing?Tuesday.

Sun made the remarks at a briefing conference about his visit to the Middle East.

Sun, who visited Egypt, Isreal and Palestine from Jan. 12 to 15, said the visit impressed him very much. No matter how many reasons were behind the fighting, it was civilians there that ended up as victims, he said.

He pointed out that the Palestine problem was the most crucial of the Middle East issues. If it was not solved, the issue would exert a negative influence on "the entire region".

Sun said conflicts were interactive in the Middle East and the solution for these conflicts required the common efforts of the international community other than the parties involved.

He said China always maintained that the Middle East issue should be subject to political negotiation by parties involved, on the basis of UN resolutions and the principle of "land for peace", so as to realize the independence of Palestine and the peaceful co-existence of the two sides and peoples.

In order to achieve this goal, concerted efforts of the international community were indispensable, Sun said, adding the current ceasefire in the Gaza Strip reflected the efforts of the international community to some extent.

To solve the complicated conflict between Israel and Palestine, parties should not only handle the current situation, but also seek for a radical solution from a long-term perspective, Sun said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2009)