Arab League to appeal for no-fly zone over Gaza

FRANCE 24… Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa announced Sunday his intention to appeal to the UN Security Council for a no-fly zone over Gaza, where repeated Israeli air strikes have left at least 18 people dead since Thursday.

AFP – Arab League chief Amr Mussa said on Sunday the organisation will ask the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza, which Israel has pounded with air strikes in response to rocket fire.

Mussa told an emergency meeting of Arab League ambassadors that “the Arab bloc in the United Nations has been directed to ask for the convention of the Security Council to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and impose a no-fly zone.”

Israeli and Palestinian officials were on Sunday floating a ceasefire to end fighting in the coastal strip where Israeli air strikes have killed at least 18 people since Thursday.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of an even stronger response if more rockets are fired from the Palestinian territory controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas.

The flare-up came after an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza hit an Israeli school bus on Thursday, wounding two people, one of them critically.

Even if Arab representatives at the United Nations succeed in convening a Security Council meeting, the United States, a close ally of Israel, is likely to veto it.

The Arab League request for a no-fly zone over Gaza may have been inspired by a UN-sanctioned aerial blockade for Libya to halt forces loyal to Moamer Kadhafi harming civilians.

Arab League backing for that no-fly zone was seen as crucially important by the United States when it pressed for a UN resolution that authorised it and other countries to keep Libyan planes grounded.

6 Replies to “Arab League to appeal for no-fly zone over Gaza”

  1. Several people predicted that this would be done, this is a win/win situation for the Arabs. If the no fly zone is put in place European jets will be used to shoot down Israeli jets, if it isn’t put into place the Arabs wills start screaming racism.

  2. This is a test for Obama. If the US does not prevent this it will prove his administration really is anti Israel and has not merely been sucking up to the arab street.

  3. I highly doubt this will happen. European pilots would have no trouble against Arab air forces. The Israeli one is a different story.

  4. Obama will fail the test, he hates Israel as much as he hates Britain, he is doing his best to destroy the relationship between the US and Britain as well as the relationship between the US and Israel. I personally think he will hold a party to celebrate if Israel is destroyed.

  5. If the Arab league gets its way, it will mean only one thing: they are preparing a multi-pronged strike against Israel.

    First the no-fly zone will weaken Israel’s ability to defend against Arab (Palestinian) rockets and mortar attacks. Second, it would give the Arabs ample opportunity to arm Hamas and the Gazans to the hilt for a full-bore military strike, aided by Hizbollah to the north, and Syria and Jordan to the east. You can guess who would be supplying the hardware.

    Hint: the country is one of the founders of OPEC and has many playboy princes who own F-15s and other “toys”.

  6. The multi-pronged attack is coming sometime this summer, if the Iranian purchased nuclear test in North Korea it will be proceeded by a nuclear attack, if the test is unsuccessful it will proceed with conventional weapons and the Moslems will count of Obama not resupplying Israel with small arms, tank and artillery ammo. All of the evidence points to an attack this year.