China on Monday called for urgent action to prevent further deterioration in the occupied Palestinian territory, as a senior UN official warned the Security Council of continued settlement expansion and unprecedented levels of settler violence in the West Bank.

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said the Palestinian question was among the major issues discussed during the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, which concluded on Monday, with countries broadly calling for a ceasefire, dialogue and the implementation of the two-state solution.

"The international community must build greater consensus and translate these strong calls into concrete action," Fu told the Security Council, warning against allowing the prospects for the two-state solution to further diminish.

Briefing the council, Ramiz Alakbarov, acting UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said Israeli settlement activity continued at high levels despite Security Council Resolution 2334.

During the latest reporting period, Israeli authorities advanced or approved nearly 4,570 housing units in Area C of the West Bank and 3,515 in East Jerusalem, while tenders were published for nearly 2,240 additional units, he said.

More than 33,000 Palestinians remain displaced from the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, which Alakbarov called the West Bank's "longest and largest displacement" since 1967.

Fu called for all-out efforts to prevent the situation in the West Bank from collapsing.

"Any annexation or de facto annexation of West Bank territory is squeezing the living space of the Palestinian people and seriously undermining the territorial foundation of a Palestinian state," he said.

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Fu urged Israel to "immediately halt and reverse its settlement policy, stop the seizure of Palestinian homes and encroachment on Palestinian land", and "take concrete measures to curb settler violence and ensure accountability for all attacks".

He also called on Israel to return withheld Palestinian tax revenues, remove restrictions on the West Bank economy and stop undermining the governing foundation of the Palestinian Authority.

Turning to Gaza, Fu called for urgent efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, saying the enclave remained under comprehensive restrictions, with shortages of essential supplies, damaged infrastructure and severe sanitation problems.

Alakbarov told the council that 360 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,600 injured in Gaza during the reporting period amid Israeli military operations and daily air strikes.

"If the fighting in Gaza cannot be brought to an end and humanitarian access cannot be ensured, peace will remain out of reach and reconstruction in Gaza cannot begin," Fu said.

"We call on the parties concerned, Israel in particular, to sincerely and fully fulfill their obligations under the ceasefire agreement, immediately cease all military operations in Gaza and take positive steps toward lasting peace," he said.

Fu said Israel must fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law, lift restrictions on humanitarian access, allow shelter materials and necessary equipment into Gaza, and stop restrictions and pressure on humanitarian organizations, including the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

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Fu said the fundamental solution to the recurring Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies in "implementing the two-state solution, restoring the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people and establishing an independent Palestinian state".

Fu called on all parties to reject attempts to alter the territory or demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as unilateral actions that undermine the foundation of the two-state solution.

He also called for advancing governance in the West Bank and post-conflict reconstruction in Gaza under the principle of "Palestinians governing Palestine".

"Any effort by the international community on the Palestinian question should promote, rather than undermine, the two-state solution," Fu said.

As the UN General Assembly's general debate draws to a close, Fu said international efforts to resolve the Palestinian question must continue.