Update | Palestine ambassador acknowledges China's peace role in Middle East

The Palestinian ambassador to China said Beijing is playing an increasingly important role in the Middle East peace process - as a special Chinese envoy headed to Israel and the Palestinian territories to broker a truce.

Ahmad Ramadan said a stronger involvement by Beijing in seeking a resolution to the Palestine-Israel conflict was in line with China's broader interests, as it expanded its political and economic influence in the region.

"China is a big player ... it has a big interest in the region, not only economically but also politically," Ramadan said. "I think China will try to position itself as an important player in this coming period."

A spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Beijing commented on China’s role in the conflict.

“We think the relations China has both with Israel and Arab countries can be very valuable and be an important factor,” the spokesman said. “China fully supported the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire, and the Israeli side approved. But this ceasefire was unfortunately rejected by the Hamas. We really hope that with the efforts of China and the international community, we can get a ceasefire and a complete stop to acts of terrorism.”

The spokesman added that Hamas is “solely responsible for the escalation”.

“The ground operation that the Israelis started was in response to Hamas’ increasing gunfire during the ceasefire,” the spokesman said.