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MANILA, Philippines—League of Arab States Secretary General Amre Moussa is planning to see United States President George W. Bush Tuesday (Washington time) to convince him to help stop the violence in Gaza.
Moussa said that in his meeting with the outgoing president, he is "going to stress the importance of bringing this violent situation to an immediate halt, with the durable and permanent systems which can be respected fully by all the parties concerned."
"We will also discuss about how we can bring humanitarian assistance to those many civilian populations who are suffering from this current situation. We will also discuss all other mechanisms," he said in a statement e-mailed by the United Nations office in Manila.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said his office is still awaiting the go-ahead signal from the Israeli authorities before it can evacuate about six Filipinos from the war-torn area.
The Arab leader stressed his concern for the affected civilians.
"Civilian populations, wherever in the world, should be fully protected, and I have stated my strong concerns about the casualties of human populations," Moussa said.
"I believe that there should be unity among Palestinian peoples. This is up to the Palestinian people to reunify themselves between Fatah and Hamas," he added.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Monday met with Moussa and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Libya to discuss the situation in Gaza.
Ban said he and the Arab leaders agreed to create a mechanism that will protect Palestinians and provide them humanitarian assistance, as well as prevent the occurrence of the violence.
"I think we have some convergence of opinions on the major elements, which can be the basis of the discussions at the Security Council," the UN chief said.
The UN chief will join the Arab leaders in their meeting with President Bush. "I will, of course, take that opportunity to discuss this issue," he said.
"We have agreed to work very closely so that the Security Council can take decisive and swift and credible action for a binding resolution to bring an immediate end to this crisis and also allow humanitarian assistance to be delivered by opening the crossings. We will continue to work very closely in the coming days with the Security Council members and other key leaders in the region," he said.
Ban said the war in Gaza has been personally distressing to him.
"I have been spending restless days since the outbreak of this violence since December 27, and I have been engaging with a number of leaders in the region and other world leaders to discuss this matter to bring an immediate ceasefire and also allow humanitarian assistance," he said.
In a related development, Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Zvi Aviner Vapni said his country won't stop the attacks in Gaza "as these are only the results of the Hamas' action of firing rocket attacks to Israel."
Asked to comment on the international appeal for Israel to stop the attacks, he said: "We have a duty to protect our people and Israel from these rocket attacks. We would not stop our operations until we have fully disarmed Hamas."
Of the estimated 60,000 Filipinos in Israel, mostly caregivers, he said his office has not received any request from the Philippine authorities to repatriate them.
