Arabs should be flexible at U.N. over Gaza: Egypt

By Alaa Shahine

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arabs should avoid unbalanced language that just blames Israel for the attacks on Gaza if they want the U.N. Security Council to act to end the violence, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.

Aboul Gheit, in an interview with the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, also renewed his attacks on Iran, accusing Tehran of trying to control vital Arab interests and use this influence as leverage in any talks with the new U.S. administration.

Arab diplomats submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council seeking an end to the Israeli offensive and describing it as "excessive" and "disproportionate."

The council adjourned without a vote on Wednesday. Western delegates described the resolution as imbalanced and focusing almost entirely on Israel's actions.

"In such an extremely difficult situation we should show some flexibility to convince others of our demands," Aboul Gheit said in the interview on Thursday.

A one-paragraph draft resolution demanding an immediate halt of Israeli military operations and Palestinian rocket attacks was better than condemning the Jewish state's raids.

Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday, agreed to send a delegation to lobby the Security Council into taking action to end the Israeli onslaught that has killed more than 400 people.

Amr el-Choubaki, an Egyptian political analyst, said Arabs with close ties with the United States may try to convince the West that inaction over the violence may boost the popularity of radicals, which threatens to destabilize the oil-rich region.

"This led sometimes to (U.S.) pressure on Israel," he told Reuters. "The Arabs could play this card."

Israel says the offensive is designed to end rocket attacks by Hamas from Gaza.

The crisis has deepened the divide between anti-Israeli Islamist groups backed by Iran and Syria, and authoritarian governments with friendly ties with the United States, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

It has also worsened tensions between the Sunni Muslim Arab allies of the United States and Shi'ite Iran, which has criticized Arab states for their lack of response to the Israeli raids.

Arab analysts say Iran is fighting proxy wars with the United States through its influence over Syria, Hamas and the Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and Iraq.

"There is a country like Iran outside the Arab world that wants to hold as many (Arab) cards to tell the coming U.S. administration 'if you want to talk about issues like the security of the Gulf or the nuclear file you should talk to us'," Aboul Gheit said.

Washington and Tehran are at odds over Iran's nuclear program which the West says is aimed at building a nuclear bomb, a charge Iran denies.