Posted on 01/01/2009 5:05:28 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Arab diplomatic efforts to end the IDF operation in Gaza are pressing on despite a setback on Wednesday, when a draft Security Council resolution prepared by the Arab League that condemns "Israeli aggression" and calls for a halt in IDF attacks was rejected by the US... Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have blamed Palestinian divisions and, more specifically, Hamas, for opening the door to Israel's aerial assault. Other more radical states, such as Syria, have steered clear of any criticism of Hamas and have pointed fingers at Egypt... it was reported that Syria wanted to see a resolution that required Cairo to fully open the Rafah crossing between Sinai and Gaza, which Egypt has largely kept closed since Hamas came to power in 2007. But Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who does not want to legitimize Hamas, has made it clear that he would only open the crossing when the Palestinian Authority controlled the Rafah terminal, as required by a 2005 international crossing agreement his country has signed. Today, major Arab states, such as Egypt, did not have the clout that they used to have in the region, [professor at Tel Aviv University and a senior fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies Asher] Susser said. Countries such as Turkey, which has been involved in peace and conflict resolution efforts in the region, and Iran, which has been egging on Hamas, were playing a more meaningful role today than Arab countries, he said... an Egyptian-Turkish initiative... calls for a halt to Israel's assault, a return to a truce and an international mechanism to ensure the opening of Gaza's border crossings.
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...
Gaza militants up rocket attacks as truce to expireThey ramped up attacks *before* the truce expired, and obviously, the rocket attacks had been going on throughout the truce. This Turkish-Egyptian initiation is DOA -- it says, put the "truce" back on, reopen your borders to your enemies, stop defending yourself.
Saudi FM, Arab League chief blame IDF op on Palestinian riftIn an apparent message to Hamas, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister and the Arab League chief on Wednesday blamed the divisions between Fatah and Hamas for Israel's attacks in Gaza, and urged them to unite to help end the fighting at an urgent Arab League meeting. "This terrible massacre would not have happened if the Palestinian people were united behind one leadership and one voice," Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said, at the opening of the league meeting in Cairo... The special session, which was closed to the media and lasted several hours, reflected differences in opinion between Western-backed Arab states, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and their rivals on the approach to resolving the Gaza conflict... Officials and pro-government media in Egypt and Saudi Arabia have responded by blaming Hamas for provoking Israel and accusing the Islamist group of being a proxy promoting the power of regional rival Iran. Faisal's words, aimed at his Palestinian brothers, were unusually harsh for an Arab summit and are believed to be targeted at Hamas, which recently rejected Egypt's attempts to facilitate reconciliation talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Echoing sentiments expressed by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak the day before, Faisal charged that the division between the Fatah-dominated PA and Hamas opened the door for Israel to attack. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have both criticized Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, and have called on the two factions to unite, in part to advance efforts toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
by Brenda Gazzar
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
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