BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) - China on Friday called for a settlement to the territorial dispute between Israel and the Arab countries through negotiations.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks while commenting on an Israeli bill that had been passed by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) Monday. The bill demands a referendum should any Israeli government make territorial concessions in East Jerusalem to the Palestinians or in the Golan Heights to Syria.

Since the aftermath of the 1967 war, Israeli law requires a two-thirds majority of consent by the Israeli public when handing over territories to Palestine and Syria.

However, the law goes against the spirit of United Nations (UN) resolutions and cannot change the fact that East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are occupied lands of the Arab countries, Hong said.

"China calls on Israel to follow the relevant UN resolutions as well as the established principles of international laws to properly settle the territorial dispute through negotiations for the realization of a comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East," said Hong.