Arab Nations Set For 2nd Gaza Let-Down

By: Pamela Falk
Topics: World Watch

Pamela Falk is CBS News' foreign affairs analyst based at the United Nations.

Diplomatic efforts continued at the United Nations on Monday with Arab foreign ministers pressing for a cease fire between Israel and Hamas.

The Arab nations prepared a new draft Security Council Resolution to be presented when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends meetings in New York on Tuesday. An open Security Council meeting is planned.

But not much appeared to have changed, despite meetings between the Arab foreign ministers, the U.S. Ambassador, and other permanent members of the Council.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said, "We are here with the expectation that all members of the Security Council will work in a positive spirit with us in order to reach an agreement over a draft resolution that will be passed hopefully tomorrow afternoon."

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Amr Moussa (at left), the Secretary-General of the Arab League, said the meetings were positive, but the new proposal still appeared unlikely to mesh with stated U.S. policy. The U.S. rejected an earlier Arab cease fire proposal last weekend.

The Arab League is setting the stage for yet another disappointment at the U.N. if significant changes are not made.

Israel is hoping for a diplomatic solution outside the U.N. — one which would require a commitment from Hamas to end rocket attacks on southern Israel. That requirement is still missing from the new Arab League draft resolution.

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

However, intense diplomacy is taking place in Israel and Egypt with a European delegation headed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, an emissary from the Russian Presidency and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. At the U.N., U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad (at left) joined the Arab ministers' meeting.

The new Arab proposal, which is still being finalized, calls for a cease fire, an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops, the opening of crossing points, monitoring mechanisms and a U.N. international peacekeeping force to protect the civilian population of Gaza, according to Moussa.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the effort to negotiate a cease fire was being hampered by the continuing Hamas rocket fire.

Livni told the visiting European delegation in Israel: "The world has to understand that it must choose a camp — Israel or the terrorists."

Pamela Falk
Pamela Falk is CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst and an international lawyer, based at the United Nations.

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by laurieleemoo January 7, 2009 5:37 PM EST: You know, I just can''''t care, I just cannot work myself to care. I forced myself to watch it. I forced myself to read it. And I just have no emotion, I don''''t care.
Posted by louthesz9 at 04:11 AM : Jan 07, 2009

I totally understand what this person is saying...as I too can not bring myself any longer to care about the Palestinian people.

I mean...enough is enough Hamas and all the Palestinians who support them. You are your OWN worst enemies and.......

We just don''t care anymore what happens to you idiots.; Reply to this comment


by laurieleemoo January 7, 2009 5:32 PM EST: Exactly how many cease fires do we have to go through before the naive politicians with their high hopes of diplomacy get it through there heads that you can neither negotiate with or trust terrorists while they are in their element.

Hamas must be disbanded as a terrorist organization and then once that happens, Israel can then negotiate with the Palestinian Authority and Abbas.

THAT IS THE ONLY ANSWER!

You can only; Reply to this comment


by runningralph January 7, 2009 11:13 AM EST: If Arab nations were serious about having peace they would loudly and publicly denounce Al queda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and all the other terrorist organizations. Instead they call for peace only when infidels retaliate.; Reply to this comment


by louthesz9 January 7, 2009 7:11 AM EST: You know, I just can''t care, I just cannot work myself to care. I forced myself to watch it. I forced myself to read it. And I just have no emotion, I don''t care. I remember when I was a little kid, and the Palestinians and Israelis were fighting each other. Let''s face it, there will always be a faction within Palestine that will be violent until ALL Jews are driven out of Israel. They want the entire place back. They''re just gonna fight like this for the rest of our lives and everybody else would have moved on. There will always be a faction that''ll make trouble no matter what truces, peace accords, or decisions are made. You turn on the cable news and they got the experts and they say we gotta negotiate, we have to have a diplomatic solution, blah, blah, blah,.... SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP!!; Reply to this comment


by anitay417 January 6, 2009 8:56 PM EST: Folks, I can tell a lot of you are irritated with FloydZepp. I understand your irritation. He is quite an immature distraction.
But, he is not going to stop his flames, his racial insults("kikes" over and over), and his crude language simply because you ask him.
In fact, each time you ask him to tone it down, he will get worse.
Why? Because, he''s a troll. And that is what trolls do. Go see Wiki if you have forgotten what a troll is. Their definition: "An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion."

If you TRULY want him to go away, IGNORE him. Pretend he is invisible. He WANTS you to engage and debate him and insult him and correct him. Don''t give him(or his like) the satisfaction. And one more thing: he almost certainly is using multiple logons. So, if you see a person agreeing with him or defending him, keep in mind: that person is likely also Floyd.
Thanks!; Reply to this comment


by jimmyc1955 January 6, 2009 5:05 PM EST: Muslim terrorists have been blowing up people indiscriminately. In Iraq and in Afghanistan they kill Muslims, children and women with no remorse.

Recent articles indicate that support for this blind murder is declining and sympathy is waning.

It would make the Arab ambassadors look more concerned if they supported a call for cessation of rocket attacks from Gaza.; Reply to this comment


by factsearcher January 6, 2009 5:02 PM EST: What most need to understand is the underlining of the situation. This belic conflict started more than 60 years ago before there was an Israel by british mandate (legally theirs)and is not going to change unless the international community finally put their feet down and get tough with the terrorist organizations...in this case hamas.
To my surprise, this time around the arab nations are asking to cease fire but have not condemned Israel of retaliating...understanding that as long as there is not one united leadership within palestinian...it is a useless cause and israelis have the right and duty to defend themselves as a nation in the middle of the fundamentalist wolves.; Reply to this comment


by choiceshaveconsequences January 6, 2009 4:03 PM EST: Aldous Huxley opined that "maybe this world is another planet''s hell." This would not be good news for either side. But it would explain why so many earthlings behave like Uranus.; Reply to this comment


by quickly101 January 6, 2009 3:59 PM EST: I think the rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel could be stopped quickly if hamas leaders said stop. They don''t want to stop, they are Iranian puppets. Anyone who uses children and women for shields are pitiful excuses for human beings. Hamas is a cult of death.; Reply to this comment


by docpeter1953 January 6, 2009 3:57 PM EST: The reason Iseral is doing this now is they can count on this administration to stone wall the UN resolutions. They know that once the power changes in 14 days they may not like the out come of what the UN is going to do.

So they are bent on destruction and they don''''t care about the cost.

But then again it happens sometimes.

Posted by antoniof123 at 08:51
AM : Jan 06, 2009

_____________________

Wrong. the reason Israel is doing this now is because Hamas started it again.

Let Hamas quit rocketing Israel and Israel will quit bombing Hamas.

have you not noticed that Hamas continued to send rockets into Israel before and while Israel was bombing Gaza.

Take off the blinders. Hamas started this round and Israel intends to finish.; Reply to this comment