CAIRO - Arab League foreign ministers on Wednesday denounced Israel's deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip over the past week as "war crimes."
At a meeting in Cairo, the ministers said they "denounce the savage crimes carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza and the rest of the occupied territories ... considering them war crimes and crimes against humanity."
The remarks were part of a draft statement expected to be formally endorsed by foreign ministers of the 22-member Arab League.
Israeli raids in the past week have killed more than 126 people in Gaza, including children and other civilians. Two Israeli soldiers and one civilian have also died over the same period.
The Arab condemnation came as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Wednesday to keep up military strikes on the Gaza Strip, which are aimed at stopping rocket attacks on Israel from the Hamas-ruled territory.
"The Israeli army operations against the Gaza Strip will continue as long as the rocket fire continues," a senior official quoted Olmert as telling a meeting of the powerful Israeli security cabinet on the situation in Gaza.
Olmert's office later issued a statement saying "the Israeli government will act continuously, systematically, and over a long period ... to put and end to the rocket fire and other terror activities in Gaza."
The Cairo meeting comes as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrapped up a Middle East trip, during which she reiterated that the rocket fire had to stop and called on Israel -- which earned international condemnation for excessive use of force -- to spare innocent lives during its raids.
"The United States of course understands Israel's right to defend itself, but Israel needs to be very cognizant of the effects of its operations on innocent people," Rice said on Tuesday.
bur/hkb/al
03/05/2008 16:27 GMT