Arab States Work With U.N. On Gaza Ceasefire

By: Pamela Falk
Topics: World Watch

With Israeli troops moving to Gaza's borders, the Palestinian representative at the U.N., Riyad Mansour, and the Ambassadors of Egypt, Syria and the League of Arab States met today with the Secretary General to negotiate a ceasefire, says CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk. They said they are not looking for a formal Security Council Resolution, but rather, they need Arab League pressure on Hamas and on Israel to return to a truce, Falk reports from the U.N.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with the press at U.N. Headquarters today after the U.N. compound in Gaza was hit and eight teenage student trainers and a U.N. staff member were killed; he called the escalation of the violence unacceptable and demanded an immediate ceasefire. The Secretary General said he has condemned Hamas in the past and now he is condemning Israel for excessive use of force.

It was at the U.N. only two weeks ago that the Security Council met to support a two state solution and restart the peace negotiations in the Middle East – but the four hour emergency session on Sunday morning fell on deaf ears, leaving the U.N. to deal with the border crossings and delivery of humanitarian supplies.

Diplomats at the U.N. are divided between those who support Israel's self defense against militant attacks and those who accuse Israel of a disproportionate response, said Falk. "But in corridors of the U.N., the Ambassadors of Egypt and Syria, the Palestinian Authority leadership, and the League of Arab States have all expressed their interest in pressuring the Hamas leadership in the Gaza strip to return to a truce and to pressure Israel to do the same."

(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Pictured: Palestinians gather next to a building used by the Islamic group Hamas after it was hit in an Israeli missile strike in Jebaliya, northern Gaza Strip, Dec. 29, 2008.

The U.N. Humanitarian Commissioner-General in Gaza, Karen Abu Zayd, speaking at a U.N. press conference, said that the aerial assault is creating panic in Gaza and that the military tanks along the border are raising concerns about a ground invasion, Falk reports.

With violence escalating and casualties rising from Hamas rocket strikes into southern Israel and continuing Israeli air strikes, U.N. officials are trying today to find a diplomatic solution, to little avail.