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Special Report: Israel launches Gaza assault
New clash between Israeli, Lebanese troops

Foreign ministers or representatives of the 22 member states of the Arab League (AL) began their emergent meeting in Cairo on Saturday on the escalating violence in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
This is a general view the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday July 15, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

CAIRO, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Arab foreign ministers, who gathered here for an emergency meeting, on Saturday urged the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to intervene and stop an escalating conflict in the Middle East.

At the end of the one-day meeting, the ministers issued a resolution to urge the Security Council to take an immediate step to enforce a ceasefire and lift an Israeli blockade on Lebanon.

The resolution also condemned Israeli military offensive in south Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, while voicing full solidarity with Lebanon against the Israeli offensives.

"The Israeli aggressions amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity," said the resolution, which also expressed regret over a U.S. veto on a draft resolution condemning the Israeli onslaught.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said after the meeting that the Middle East peace process has failed.

"All of the mechanisms, including the international quartet, have failed to push ahead with the peace process," Moussa said.

The quartet -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- sponsors the peace process in the Middle East.

The current situation in the Middle East resulted in anger and frustration, said Moussa, adding that such a situation was the immediate result of a trend by some major powers to give Israel the upper hand in the peace process.

Moussa made the remarks at a joint press conference with State Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed Hussein al-Shaali, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council.

Al-Shaali said that decisions by Arab foreign ministers included political and diplomatic moves at international, regional and Arab levels aimed at ending Israeli aggressions on Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.