I/III. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/un-security-council-immediate-gaza-ceasefire/1/374462.html
Gaza ceasefire AP United Nations, July 28, 2014 | UPDATED 14:25 IST The UN Security Council called for "an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire" in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas at an emergency meeting just after midnight (0400 GMT) on Monday morning. The council met as Muslims started celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. The pressure for a cease-fire followed new attacks launched by Israel and Hamas on Sunday despite back-and-forth over proposals for another temporary halt to nearly three weeks of fighting. A 12-hour lull Saturday, agreed to by both sides following intense US and United Nations mediation efforts, could not be sustained. The Security Council urged Israel and Hamas "to accept and fully implement the humanitarian cease-fire into the Eid period and beyond." It said this would allow for the delivery of urgently needed assistance. The council's presidential statement also called on the parties "to engage in efforts to achieve a durable and fully respected cease-fire, based on the Egyptian initiative." The 20-day war has killed more than 1,030 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israel has lost 43 soldiers, as well as two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker killed by rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza, according to the Israeli military. The Palestinians and the Israelis both criticized the statement adopted by the council. Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the council should have adopted a strong and legally binding resolution a long time ago demanding an immediate halt to Israel's "aggression," providing the Palestinian people with protection and lifting the siege in the Gaza Strip so goods and people can move freely. Nonetheless, Mansour expressed hope that Israel will "honor and respect" a new humanitarian cease-fire which the Palestinians hope will last "for a long time" so all outstanding issues can be addressed, especially the siege. "You cannot keep 1.8 million Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip in this huge prison," he told reporters. "That is a recipe for disaster, It is inhumane, and it has to be stopped and it has to be lifted." Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor said the presidential statement didn't mention Hamas or the firing of rockets into Israel or Israel's right to defend itself. He sidestepped several questions on whether Israel would accept a new humanitarian cease-fire, but stressed that it had agreed to five cease-fires since the conflict began. "Every single time the international community called for a cease-fire, we ceased and Hamas fired," he said. Prosor directed his statement to countries that give money to the Palestinians in Gaza, saying, "Your tax dollars are not being used towards education, civil services or development - they are being used to develop a terrorist stronghold." The Security Council is often deeply divided on Israeli-Palestinian issues, with the United States, Israel's most important ally, often blocking or using its veto on statements and resolutions pressed by the Palestinians and their supporters. Rwanda, the current council president, announced agreement on the presidential statement Sunday night and called an immediate, and rare, emergency meeting at midnight to approve it. The statement was drafted by Jordan, the Arab representative on the U.N.'s most powerful body. Jordan's deputy U.N. ambassador Mahmoud Hmoud said the presidential statement was the first Security Council document on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since January 2009, when the council called for an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza after another conflict with Hamas. Presidential statements become part of the council's official record and must be approved at a council meeting. They are a step below Security Council resolutions, but unlike resolutions they require approval of all 15 members. The statement never names either Israel or Hamas. Instead, it expresses "grave concern regarding the deterioration in the situation as a result of the crisis related to Gaza and the loss of civilian lives and casualties." The presidential statement also commends efforts by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to achieve a cease-fire. Ban is scheduled to address U.N. correspondents on Monday morning on his mission. In the longer term, the statement urges the parties and the international community to achieve a comprehensive peace based on the vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace "with secure and recognized borders." II/III. http://www.arabnews.com/news/featured/608676 Relative lull in Gaza as UN calls for cease-fire Palestinian girls play while celebrating the first day of Eid al-Fitr in a United Nations school where dozens of families have sought refuge after fleeing their home in fear of Israeli airstrikes, in the Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip on Monday. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) PETER ENAV | AP Published -- Monday 28 July 2014 Last update 28 July 2014 2:20 pm JERUSALEM: A relative lull descended on the war-torn Gaza Strip on Monday, as international efforts intensified to end the three-week war between Israel and Hamas and the UN called for an "immediate" cease-fire. The calm came as Muslims started celebrating the Eid Al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. But there was little holiday cheer in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian families huddled inside their homes, fearing more airstrikes. At a cemetery in Gaza City's Sheik Radwan neighborhood, those who came to pay traditional respects at their ancestors' graves gathered around a large crater from an airstrike a week ago that had broken up several graves. The Israeli military said it had not carried out any attacks in Gaza since 9:30 p.m. on Sunday but that troops on the ground were pressing on with efforts to destroy the cross-border tunnels constructed by Hamas for attacks inside Israel. The military also said that Hamas fired a single rocket into Israel in the morning hours Monday, but that there was no damage or casualties. The Israeli army opened artillery fire on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza in response to the rocket fired at Ashkelon, said the office of Israel's military spokesman. "Quiet will be met with quiet," the office statement said. In New York, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called for "an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire," its strongest statement yet on the conflict that has already killed 1,030 Palestinians and 43 Israeli soldiers. Also, two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker in Israel have died in rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza. The pressure for a cease-fire followed new attacks launched by Israel and Hamas on Sunday despite back-and-forth over proposals for another temporary halt to the fighting. The Security Council urged Israel and Hamas "to accept and fully implement the humanitarian cease-fire into the Eid period and beyond." It said this would allow for the delivery of urgently needed assistance. The council's presidential statement also called on the parties "to engage in efforts to achieve a durable and fully respected cease-fire, based on the Egyptian initiative." Israel did not immediately comment on the statement. On Sunday, President Barack Obama telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his concern over the mounting Palestinian casualties. The White House said Obama reiterated that Israel has a right to defend itself and condemned Hamas' rocket attacks. Obama said a lasting peace will ultimately require a demilitarized Gaza and dismantling of terror groups. The US president also pushing for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire that would allow Israeli and Palestinian civilians to return to normalcy. International diplomats have hoped that a temporary lull in the fighting could be expanded into a more sustainable truce to end the bloodshed. ___ Laub reported from Gaza City, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. III. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/quiet-amid-gaza-ceasefire-confusion-2014727182342640379.html Gaza bloodshed eases amid ceasefire confusion Hamas backs 24-hour humanitarian truce but state of ceasefire is unclear with no sign of a permanent deal. Last updated: 28 Jul 2014 04:40 Fighting has subsided in Gaza after Hamas said it backed a 24-hour humanitarian truce, but there was no sign of any comprehensive deal to end its conflict with Israel. Hamas said on Sunday that it had endorsed a call by the UN for a pause in the fighting in light of the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which will start on Monday. Some firing of rockets continued after the time that Hamas had announced it would put its guns aside, while Israeli artillery guns also fired barrages into Gaza, Israeli media reported. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, questioned the validity of the truce, adding that Israel would "take whatever action is necessary to protect our people". Nonetheless, Gaza residents said Israeli shelling and Hamas missile launches had slowly subsided through the afternoon, the Reuters news agency reported, suggesting a de facto truce might be taking shape as international efforts to broker a permanent ceasefire appeared to stall. Israel and Hamas had agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire on Saturday to allow Palestinians to stock up on supplies and retrieve bodies from under the rubble. Netanyahu's cabinet voted to extend the truce until midnight on Sunday at the request of the UN, but called it off when Hamas launched rockets into Israel in the morning. Palestinian medics said at least 10 people had died in the wave of subsequent strikes that swept Gaza, including a Christian woman whose house in Gaza City was struck by an Israeli bomb. Some 1,031 Palestinians, mainly civilians and including many children, have been killed in the 20-day conflict. A Gaza health ministry official issued revised figures of the dead, saying that 30 fewer people than thought had died in the conflict. Israel says 43 of its soldiers have died, along with three civilians killed by rocket and mortar fire out of Gaza. For his part, Barack Obama, the US president, spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday and stressed the need for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire. In a statement, the White House said Obama "made clear the strategic imperative of instituting an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities now and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities based on the November 2012 ceasefire agreement". So far, diplomatic efforts led by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, to end the 20-day conflict have shown little sign of progress. Israel and Hamas have set conditions that appear irreconcilable. Hamas wants an end to the Israeli-Egyptian economic blockade of Gaza before agreeing to halt hostilities. Israel has signalled it could make concessions towards that end, but only if Hamas is stripped of its weapons. "Hamas must be permanently stripped of its missiles and tunnels in a supervised manner," Naftali Bennett, a member of the Israeli security cabinet, said on Facebook. "In return we will agree to a host of economic alleviations." Kerry flew back to Washington overnight after spending most of the week in Egypt trying to bridge the divide, putting forward some written proposals to Israel on Friday. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. 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