Rice Presses Israel On Gaza Ceasefire Proposal

Rice spoke by telephone on Wednesday to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and was to meet Arab ministers.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel on Wednesday to seriously consider an Egyptian ceasefire proposal as the U.N. Security Council weighed action to end Israel's attack on Gaza.

Rice spoke by telephone on Wednesday to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and met Arab ministers as well as her French and British counterparts at the United Nations.

"We are supportive of the Mubarak initiative ... we are saying (to the Israelis) that it is an effort worth working on," said a senior U.S. official traveling with Rice, who extended a trip to New York to push the diplomatic efforts.

The plan offered by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seeks to end the 12-day offensive that Israel launched with the declared aim of suppressing rocket fire from Hamas Islamist militants on its southern towns. In Israel, officials said they accepted the "principles" of the proposal, but the details needed to be worked out.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he saw the "first glimmerings" of a ceasefire. "But it's far too early to say we can get a breakthrough," Miliband told Sky News from the United Nations, where he met Rice to discuss how to proceed.

The United States, while supportive of the Egyptian effort, is also looking at alternatives, said State Department spokesman Robert Wood in Washington.

A U.S. official traveling with Rice made clear there were some differences but that Washington was particularly supportive of Egypt's efforts to work with the Israelis.

"Some of the specifics on an immediate ceasefire are not consistent with with what we were laying out," said a U.S. official, adding that the United States wanted a "durable and sustainable" ceasefire without any time limit.

The U.N. Security Council held an open meeting on the Gaza crisis, and the 15 council members were due to hold closed-door consultations on Gaza later on Wednesday.

Iranian delegate Ali Habib read a statement accusing Israel of "war crimes, aggression, occupation and state terrorism (and) ... some of the most heinous examples of crimes against humanity."

Israel's Ambassador Gabriela Shalev had on Tuesday called Iran a "coward's coward" that funds Hamas and uses it to fight a proxy war with Israel. The Iranian statement dismissed the Israeli accusations as "despicable".

The Egyptian plan, partly brokered by France, calls for an end to the rocket attacks on Israel, the opening of Gaza border crossings and an end to weapons smuggling into Gaza.

LIBYAN RESOLUTION SEEN AS BIASED

While backing many elements of the Egyptian proposal, the United States strongly objected to a Libyan draft resolution that Washington and its allies see as anti-Israeli.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam told reporters he would try to get a Security Council vote despite the opposition. Rice met Shalgam on Wednesday to make the U.S. position clear.

Western diplomats said the Libyan resolution was unlikely to come to a vote and faced a U.S. veto if it did. Britain, France and the United States were working on a Security Council statement expressing support for the Mubarak initiative.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said he wanted a vote on the Libyan resolution and complained about lack of U.N. action so far.

More than 650 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the Israeli offensive began last month, according to medical officials. Ten Israelis, including three civilians hit by rocket fire, have been killed.

The sides observed a three-hour truce on Wednesday to allow in humanitarian aid but clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen resumed after the pause expired.