The UN Security Council met in emergency session on Tuesday to mull a call for ending the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip as the Jewish state eased its lockdown and allowed in limited amounts of fuel to the impoverished territory.
The meeting which kicked off 45 minutes behind schedule at 10:45 am (local time), had been requested by Arab and Islamic states amid a growing international outcry at what the European Union termed the ''collective punishment'' of Gaza's 1.5 million residents.
The 15 ambassadors were negotiating on a draft statement submitted by Libya, the council chair this month, that would call on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza and endure ''unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people,'' according to a copy of the text obtained by AFP.
The statement would also urge Israel ''to abide by its obligation under international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, and immediately to cease all its illegal measures and practices against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip.''
But Western diplomats said they would push for language that would also call for an end to rocket firing into Israel by Gaza-based militants.
Palestinian UN observer Ryad Mansour told the council that since the November 27 Middle East conference in the US city of Annapolis, more than 160 Palestinians have been killed by the occupying power, including at least 12 children and nine women, with the majority of the killed and wounded in Gaza.
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