By Xinhua
Cairo : The Arab League (AL) and Egypt, active mediators in the Palestinian issue, are making efforts to alleviate a looming humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip caused by the continued Israeli strikes and siege.
The AL Council on Monday held an emergency meeting on the current situation in Gaza, urging the UN Security Council (UNSC) to hold a meeting to help end the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
During the meeting at the level of permanent delegates, the AL Council called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to refer a report on the Israeli practices in Gaza to the Security Council, Egypt’s MENA news agency reported.
The Cairo-based Arab bloc urged the UNSC “to hold international investigations into the Israeli crimes,” said MENA.
The AL council considered the Israeli strikes on Gaza as additional proof that Israel was not serious about the peace process, terming Israel’s declaration considering the strip a hostile entity as illegitimate.
At a press conference following the meeting, AL Secretary General Amr Moussa called on the countries that took part in the Annapolis conference to shoulder their responsibilities for Gaza.
Moussa said the United States, the host of the Annapolis conference held last November on Mideast peace, should be directly responsible for what was happening in Gaza, said MENA.
Saying he would discuss the Gaza situation with the UN secretary general on Jan. 23, Moussa added that Arab foreign ministers will evaluate the impact of such situation on the peace process at an upcoming AL meeting scheduled for Jan. 27.
On Friday, Israel decided not to allow fuels into Gaza in response to the ongoing makeshift rocket attacks fired by militants round the clock at communities in southern Israel.
As a result, the sole Gaza power plant on Sunday completely stopped supplying electricity to around 800,000 Palestinians in the strip.
In addition, at least 37 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, as an important regional actor and mediator in the Palestinian issue, Egypt has recently sped up its efforts to help lift the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Monday held contacts with the international Quartet on the continued Israeli strikes and siege on Gaza.
In verbal messages conveyed through Egypt’s ambassadors to the United States, Russia, the UN and the European Union, Abul Gheit called on them to shoulder their responsibility towards the ongoing crisis in the Palestinian territory, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a press release.
Abul Gheit also sent similar messages to France, Italy, Britain, Spain and Germany, Zaki added.
Zaki said the contacts stressed the need to press Israel to restore electricity and fuel supplies to the strip where innocent Palestinians are suffering from the electricity cut-off.
Later on Monday, Abul Gheit held telephone calls with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, stressing the need to calm down the situation in Gaza.
Warning against further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Abul Gheit urged Rice to intervene immediately to halt Israeli practices against the Palestinians in Gaza, Zaki was quoted as saying.
In another front, Egypt is holding contacts with Israel to persuade it to resume fuel supplies to Gaza power station as soon as possible, MENA quoted a well-placed Egyptian diplomatic source as saying on Monday.
The Egyptian-Israeli contacts resulted in progress to restore electricity to the Gaza Strip, said the source.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided on Monday evening to slightly ease the siege on Gaza and allow medical supplies and a minimal amount of diesel fuel for the sole power plant in Gaza.