BUENOS AIRES, Nov 17, 2012 (AFP)
BUENOS AIRES, Nov 17, 2012 (AFP)
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called on his Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner to rally other Latin American leaders in support of stopping the violence in Gaza, Argentina said Saturday.
“The president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, contacted President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, to ask for her intervention, and through her the leaders of the region and the world, for an end of violence between Israel and the Palestinian faction Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip,” the government said in a statement on its website.
The statement said the two leaders connected on Friday.
In the conversation, Morsi said the rising civilian toll had “elevated the situation to a state of danger not seen in recent years.”
Kirchner expressed “solidarity with all the victims and pledged to work with regional leaders in urging warring parties to cease violence,” the statement added.
She also expressed support for the Palestinians’ controversial bid to secure upgraded membership at the United Nations later this month, a move strongly opposed by Israel and the United States.
An important regional trading bloc, Mercosur, of which Argentina is a member, issued a joint statement earlier Saturday condemning the “disproportionate use of force” in Gaza, calling on both sides to immediately halt the violence.
Israeli air strikes in the neighboring Gaza Strip killed 14 people on Saturday and destroyed the headquarters of the Hamas government.
Since the conflict broke out on Wednesday, 44 Palestinians have been killed and more than 390 have been injured, according to Gaza’s emergency services.
In the same period, three Israelis have been killed by rocket fire from Gaza and another 18 injured, 10 of them soldiers, police and the army said.
