The UN Security Council held a high-level emergency meeting late Tuesday as international pressure mounted for an end to Operation Cast Lead, the IDF offensive in Gaza now entering its 12th day.

Hosni Mubarak welcomes his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Sharm el-Sheih on Tuesday.
Photo: AP

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Security Council that the United States understands "the urgency of an end to the fighting" and is working around the clock to achieve it.

"In this regard, we are pleased by, and wish to commend, the statement of the president of Egypt and to follow up on that initiative," Rice said, referring to a cease-fire plan proposed by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Rice cautioned, however, that any solution must include an end to Hamas rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel, the opening of all borders in Gaza, and an end to arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

"There must be a solution this time that does not allow Hamas to use Gaza as a launching pad against Israeli cities. It has to be a solution that does not allow the rearmament of Hamas, and it must be a solution that finds a way to open crossings so that Palestinians in Gaza can have a normal life," she said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the council that the latest IAF strike on a UN school which reportedly killed 30 and injured 55, was "new proof of the heinous crime being committed against our people."

However, despite the violence, he said, "we remain committed to continuing the political process."

"I express my support for the plan set in motion today by President Mubarak and President Sarkozy," Abbas told the council.

Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev defended the country's military action in Gaza, saying Hamas "has no interest in making peace" and only wants to inflict terror on Israel and "tyranny" in Gaza, where its forces hide among innocent civilians.

"We have to defend ourselves," she said. "It is about ensuring the end of terrorism in Gaza, and the end of weapons smuggling into Gaza."

Many Arab speakers denounced the Security Council's failure to adopt a legally binding resolution to stop the fighting.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Israel's "aggression" had created a "hell" in Gaza, and the Security Council's "deafening silence" after 11 days of the conflict is damaging.

"This places a big question mark over the credibility of the Security Council and the entire system of international security," he said. "Destruction is spreading in a way that cannot be justified in any way whatsoever... What is happening now in Gaza can only be described as a horrendous crime."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told the council that the Mubarak-Sarkozy plan would bring together the main parties, including the Palestinian Authority, to take "all measures" to end the conflict, including the key issues of protecting Gaza's borders and reopening all crossings.

Kouchner said Mubarak and Sarkozy had announced the plan at a press conference.

"We are awaiting the Israeli response and we harbor hope that it will be a positive one," Kouchner said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev told The Associated Press, "We are holding off comments on that for the time being."

According to Israeli officials, the cease-fire proposal is based on the establishment of an international force to prevent the smuggling of arms from Sinai into Gaza, which would augment a group of US military engineers already on the Egyptian side of the border.

Egypt said on Tuesday night that it was proposing an immediate cease-fire, followed by talks on long-term arrangements for borders and crossings.

Mubarak did not specifically mention Hamas by name, but a Hamas delegate who came to Cairo for talks with the Egyptians Tuesday said the group would take the proposal back to its Damascus, Syria headquarters for discussion. The delegate did not wish to be named, due to the sensitivity of the discussions.

Under the proposal, Israel and Hamas would accept an immediate cease-fire for a limited period, which would allow safe passages to open for humanitarian aid to Gaza and give Egypt time to continue its efforts for a comprehensive and lasting cease-fire, Reuters reported.

Egypt would then invite both Israel and the Palestinian side to an urgent meeting to reach arrangements and guarantees to ensure that the current escalation does not recur. These talks will deal with all the issues at hand, including protecting the border, reopening crossing points and lifting the blockade, it said.

Finally, Egypt would invite the Palestinian Authority and all Palestinian factions to respond to Egyptian efforts to achieve national reconciliation.

Israeli diplomatic officials said a Security Council resolution calling for an end to the fighting, similar to the resolution that put an end to the Second Lebanon War, could only be accepted by Israel if a mechanism to stop arms smuggling was in place.

Olmert, on a tour of the South Tuesday, laid out the principles for an end to Operation Cast Lead.

"It will stop when the conditions that are essential for Israel's security are met," Olmert said. "First and foremost, all terrorist operations against us must stop. The strengthening of the terrorist organizations via the smuggling of war materiel from Egypt into Gaza must also stop."

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said there was widespread international acceptance of these principles, but that the details of how to do this were very fluid.

Meanwhile, US President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday he was "deeply concerned" about the loss of civilian life in Gaza and Israel, in his first comments on the ongoing hostilities.

He also pledged to engage "effectively and consistently" in trying to resolve Middle East conflicts as soon he takes office on January 20.

"It's not only right for the people in that region. Most importantly, it's right for the national security of the American people and the stability that is so important to this country," he said, in a brief appearance before the press in Washington that focused on the economic crisis.