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Efforts To Stop Fighting Make Little Progress

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Los Angeles Times

Published: January 5, 2009

BEIRUT, Lebanon - With little sign that the departing Bush administration will press Israel to halt the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, diplomats and political leaders throughout the Middle East and Europe are scrambling to find ways to bring an end to the violence.

As the weekend drew to a close, and the ground skirmishes continued, the diplomatic activity appeared to have made little progress.

The U.N. chief urged the divided Security Council to try to bring a speedy end to the escalating crisis in Gaza and planned to meet today with Arab ministers flying to New York to press for a resolution demanding an immediate end to the violence.

"Given the crucial juncture at which we have arrived in the search for a cease-fire, I appeal to all members of the international community to display the unity and commitment required to bring this escalating crisis to an end," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

In Gaza, after a week of air raids and high expectations produced by the days of massing Israeli troops on the border, the first 24 hours of ground combat appeared to have been comparatively restrained. Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza, had warned that Israeli ground troops would find themselves trapped, resulting in numerous casualties.

The battles so far have been outside urban areas, however, and Israel reported the death of only one soldier. Four Israelis in all, including civilians, have been reported killed in the conflict.

Senior Israeli officials said the fighting could go on for days, if not weeks, and said that calls for a cease-fire were premature.

Israel aimed its power at Hamas' fighters and infrastructure and said its forces had killed several dozen militants, including a senior leader, and destroyed a smuggling tunnel.
Palestinian officials did not confirm the militants' deaths, and it was difficult for foreign news organizations to verify Israel's claims, because they have been restricted from entering Gaza.

Rage in the Arab and Muslim worlds intensified over Israel's war, with demonstrations in recent days in Turkey and Lebanon as well as in a number of European capitals. The leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, which have diplomatic relations with Israel, condemned the attacks as disproportionate and called for them to end.

Late Saturday, the United States used its U.N. Security Council veto to block a cease-fire deal that did not include guarantees sought by Israel, and Europe and even some Arab states held back from applying strong pressure on Israel to end its escalating offensive against Hamas, which is widely perceived as a client of Iran and Syria.

U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States saw no prospect of Hamas abiding by last week's council call for an immediate end to the violence. Therefore, he said, a new statement at this time "would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, and) would not do credit to the council."

However, with the arrival of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and the top foreign ministers for eight Arab nations in New York today, U.N. officials say they expect to see increasing pressure on the Security Council to take some sort of action.

Information from The New York Times and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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