Arab League plans emergency talks on Gaza

A policeman carries a wounded boy into a hospital following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, August 20, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194872.html

The Arab League (AL) has announced plans to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the continuous Israeli air raids on the impoverished Gaza Strip.

"The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday, at the request of Palestine, to examine the repercussions of the dangerous situation following Israel's continuous aggression on Gaza," AFP quoted AL Deputy Secretary General Ahmad Bin Helli as saying on Saturday.

He further added that the 22-member organization would hold the meeting on the level of the permanent delegates.

Since Thursday, Israel has launched numerous air raids on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 16 and injuring dozens of Palestinians.

Moreover, Israel has claimed it launched the attacks in response to assaults that targeted two buses and a military vehicle near the Red Sea resort of Eilat in southern Israel, which left eight Israelis dead.

Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Ehud Barak quickly accused resistance groups in Gaza for the attacks and vowed a “full response.”

However, the democratically elected government of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Gaza strongly dismissed the allegations and warned against any act of aggression against the enclave.

Israel has also imposed a blockade on Gaza since the Hamas government took control of the territory in 2007.

The blockade has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the impoverished territory.

Some 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including the freedom of movement and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.