EGYPT: Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa meets with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says Israel's Gaza offensive is Arab '9-11'

Record ID: 560902

  • Title: EGYPT: Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa meets with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says Israel's Gaza offensive is Arab '9-11'
  • Date: 15th January 2009
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (JANUARY 14, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PHOTO OP OF UN SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI MOON MEETING WITH ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY GENERAL AMR MOUSSA (3 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY GENERAL AMR MOUSSA, SAYING: "Well, one of our colleagues said something which I do remember, and I believe it's valid generally. He said Gaza is our 9-11 and what would happen after Gaza will be much different than before, perhaps new realities. One of those realities would be is Israel really serious about peace or not? And this is also an issue for us to discuss within our Arab meetings." CAMERA OPERATOR FILMING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY GENERAL AMR MOUSSA, SAYING: "All decided that they will go to the Kuwait Summit that cannot ignore the situation in Gaza and the current serious circumstances and there will be time available during that Summit to discuss and maybe issue resolutions concerning Gaza." MEDIUM OF NEWS CONFERENCE MOUSSA EXITING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 30th January 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: War / Fighting
  • Reuters ID: LVA83LZ6LUQNOHDP530NNEWE581D
  • Story Text: Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, calling Gaza the Arab's "9-11", says an Arab summit will discuss the crisis.
    Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, on Wednesday (January 14) called Israel's offensive on Gaza the Arab's "9-11", and said that an upcoming Summit of Arab leaders will discuss the crisis.
    Moussa met U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in Cairo as he began a regional tour aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza.
    Moussa said Israel's attack on Gaza, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the small, impoverished territory, brought to mind parallels with al-Qaida's attack on the twin towers in New York.
    "Well, one of our colleagues said something which I do remember, and I believe it's valid generally. He said Gaza is our 9-11 and what would happen after Gaza will be much different than before, perhaps new realities.
    One of those realities would be is Israel really serious about peace or not? And this is also an issue for us to discuss within our Arab meetings," he said.
    Moussa also said an Arab summit in Kuwait will attempt to take further action to end the conflict.
    "All decided that they will go to the Kuwait Summit that cannot ignore the situation in Gaza and the current serious circumstances and there will be time available during that Summit to discuss and maybe issue resolutions concerning Gaza," he said.
    Israel continued its offensive despite Ban's call for a ceasefire.
    Israeli forces have killed 975 Palestinians and wounded thousands in their Gaza offensive. Israel says 10 soldiers have been killed along with three civilians hit by cross-border Hamas rockets.
    Ban is scheduled to fly to Israel later on Wednesday and will also visit Jordan and Syria.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register