The Palestinian observer to the United Nations (U.N.) on Monday called for a mutual cease-fire to end an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 50 Palestinians in the last six days. Riyad Mansour said the Palestinians would also accept U.N. observers to monitor the cease-fire along the Gaza-Israel border. He said representatives from Arab states held an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the Israeli offensive in northern Gaza, which Israel says is meant to stop rocket fire into Israel. "We are the ones who are suffering immensely," Mansour told a news conference. In spite of that, we are the ones who are willing to honor and respect a mutual cease-fire. Mansour said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also sent a letter to the council president saying the violence had made it difficult for Palestinians to finalize plans to form a national unity government. Abbas met with Hamas member and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Monday but failed to agree on a joint government. The negotiations are aimed at ending an international halt in aid to the Palestinians, following Hamas election win earlier this year. Israel's deputy U.N. ambassador Daniel Carmon rejected Mansour's statement, saying the Palestinian government must act instead to halt rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel.
