CAIRO
The Arab League has welcomed an Egypt-sponsored ceasefire between Palestinian resistance factions and Israel, urging international support for the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip.
In a Tuesday statement, the pan-Arab body said the ceasefire is part of an Egyptian initiative – which calls on both Israel and Palestinian factions to cease hostilities.
Palestinian factions and Israel have endorsed an Egyptian proposal for a three-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip starting Tuesday.
Israel has since completely withdrawn its forces from the besieged Palestinian territory.
The new ceasefire came three weeks after Cairo presented an initiative that called on both Israel and Palestinian factions to halt hostilities.
The initiative was initially welcomed by Israel and rejected by Palestinians for failing to meet the demands of the Gaza people.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi called on the U.N. Security Council to force Israel to implement both the ceasefire and the Egyptian initiative, according to the statement.
"The Arab League will continue its efforts with the U.N. to provide international protection to the Palestinian people and land and bring those responsible for war crimes against the Palestinians to international justice," he said.
Al-Arabi went on to call on Arab countries and international institutions to support rebuilding the bombed Gaza Strip.
"Initial reports show that the Israeli aggression has caused a catastrophe in the Gaza Strip," he said.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 1867 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed and 9470 wounded in unrelenting Israeli attacks since July 7.
The Israeli army, for its part, has confirmed the killing of 64 troops and the injury of 651 others in Gaza combat operations, while three civilians were killed in rocket attacks on Israeli cities.
By Gomaa Moselhi
englishnews@aa.com.tr
http://www.aa.com.tr/en
