Arab foreign ministers are due to meet in Cairo either Wednesday or Thursday to draw up a response to Israel's massive offensive in the Palestinian territories, Palestinian minister Nabil Shaath told reporters after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said earlier that the Palestinians had requested the meeting of ministers from the 22-member pan-Arab body, but did not give a date.
The ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo to study "measures to take against Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people and Palestinian president Yasser Arafat," Shaath told journalists earlier.
Shaath said he has been in contact with most of the Arab foreign ministers, and added that "they agreed to holding this meeting."
Also on Tuesday, Arab countries' permanent delegates to the League met in Cairo to discuss Israel's offensive into Ramallah and other Palestinian towns on the West Bank.
According to AFP, the ministers called in a statement for the UN Security Council to act to ensure Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian towns in accordance with the council's Saturday resolution.
The ministers also invited the Security Council to deploy international peacekeepers and observers to supervise the withdrawal.
There are also growing moves for an extraordinary summit of Arab leaders to address the violence. The meeting was proposed by Libya and Yemen, Qatar has said it was in favor, and Iraq has also left the door open.
Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani on Tuesday urged Washington to "intervene immediately" to secure an Israeli withdrawal in line with the Security Council resolution.
"The situation has become extremely difficult," Sheikh Hamad warned in a telephone call with US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Qatar's official news agency QNA reported.
The Yemeni government also called for the United States and the international community to exert pressure on its ally Israel, in a statement issued after a cabinet meeting. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
