SPOTLIGHT ON ARAB SUMMIT TO HALT ISRAELI ONSLAUGHT By Ahmad Zukiman Zain

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- With no end in sight of Israeli's onslaught on Gaza, the Arab world is banking on their leaders' summit here on Monday to act decisively to stop the aggression.

Arab foreign ministers who met here yesterday approved a draft resolution
calling for an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression which has killed more
than a thousand Palestinians in Gaza.

The ministers approved a proposal calling on Arab countries to "pledge
financial aid for Gaza reconstruction estimated to cost US$2 billion" and
another US$500 million of extra aid to the Palestinian Authority.

The draft will be tabled to the Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit
to be held here on Monday and Tuesday.

United Nations and Gaza health officials have estimated that some 1,100
Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli began its merciless attacks on
Dec 27.

Apart from underlining the urgency of stopping the Israeli aggression on
Gaza, the draft calls for the reopening of all Gaza's border crossings.

It holds Israel responsible for all the atrocities in Gaza and the
violations of the international humanitarian laws.

It urges the UN human rights agencies to probe into serious crimes against
humanity committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people during the
brutal aggression on Gaza and bring to justice those who are responsible for
such crimes.

While thanking the countries which have been sending humanitarian aids to
Gaza, the draft renewed condemnation of "the brutal aggression on the
defenceless Palestinian people in Gaza Strip."

It said the Israeli army had used all kinds of lethal weapons including
internationally-banned ones since the start of the aggression.
-- BERNAMA