UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — Western and Arab foreign ministers on Thursday agreed on a draft resolution calling for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, and will put the compromise measure to a UN Security Council vote, diplomats said.
"There's an agreement accepting the amendments of the Arabs," Palestinian observer to the UN Ryad Mansour told reporters, adding that he expected the draft resolution would receive unanimous support from the 15-member council.
The text, which was released to reporters, "stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."
It "calls for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment" and welcomes initiatives aimed at "creating and opening humanitarian corridors and other mechanisms for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid."
The compromise draft also "condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism" and urged member states to intensify efforts for arrangements and guarantees in Gaza "to sustain a durable ceasefire and calm, including to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition and to ensure the reopening of the crossing points (into Gaza)."
The UN Security Council meanwhile scheduled closed-door consultations for 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) Thursday, possibly to hold a vote on the text that reconciles rival drafts proposed by the Arab and Western ministers.
Adoption by the 15-member council of the compromise draft, which was sought by Libya on behalf of the Arab UN group, is virtually certain given that the three key Western members -- the United States, Britain and France -- are now apparently onboard.
The draft also "welcomes the Egyptian initiative (the three-point truce proposal unveiled by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Tuesday) and other regional and international efforts that are under way."
The Mubarak plan included an "immediate ceasefire for a specific period" to allow delivery of humanitarian aid; an invitation for Israel and the Palestinians to come to Egypt for talks on securing Gaza borders, reopening of its crossings and lifting the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian enclave.
Even before the compromise deal was announced, Arab ministers said Thursday they were confident they would secure the nine votes necessary for passage of their own draft provided there was no veto from the five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.
The agreement was announced after four days of intensive bargaining involving British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and several Arab foreign ministers, as well as Arab League chief Amr Mussa.
Arab ministers are under public pressure to secure an immediate end to Israel's 13-day military onslaught in Gaza that has killed nearly 768 Palestinians.
Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmud told reporters that the Arab side wanted a Council vote Thursday either on a compromise text or on the revised Libyan draft.
He said the Arab ministers particularly insisted on an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the reopening of the crossings into Gaza and the lifting of the crippling Israeli blockade of the territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.
In a related development, Senior Israeli official Amos Gilad was in Cairo on Thursday for talks on the Egyptian Gaza truce proposal, a plan that Palestinian groups including Hamas described said was "not valid."
Gilad, a senior aide to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, was to hold confidential talks with Egypt's intelligence chief and pointman for Israeli affairs Omar Suleiman, the Israeli embassy said.
Meanwhile, the main UN agency operating in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA, halted its operations Thursday, after an attack on a UN-flagged truck convoy and amid mounting calls for Israel to abide by international humanitarian law.
The decision came after one person was killed when two tank shells hit the truck convoy as it traveled to the border with Israel to pick up humanitarian assistance. The Israeli military said it was probing the incident.
On Tuesday, 43 people were killed at a UN-run school in the northern town of Jabaliya after Israeli forces fired tank shells at the building where families fleeing the fighting had sought shelter. Two other schools were hit, killing five more people.
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