CAIRO, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian people seek strong political and humanitarian support from Arab states over the ongoing deadly Palestinian-Israeli conflict, said Mohannad Aklouk, Palestine's permanent representative at the Arab League (AL), in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.
Aklouk called on Arab states to use their diplomatic, political, economic and legal tools and their influence in regional and international organizations "to stop the Israeli aggression and to support and protect the Palestinian people."
The AL is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting of foreign ministers on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing deadly Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Aklouk expects the AL meeting to send several messages to Israel and the international community, including a call for an immediate halt of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the demolition of their houses.
On Saturday, the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza launched a surprise attack with thousands of rockets on Israeli towns adjacent to the Gaza enclave, prompting Israel to launch retaliatory strikes on Gaza. The conflict has caused heavy casualties on both sides.
The death toll and injuries in Gaza from the Israeli attacks rose to 830 and 4,250, respectively, according to an update by the Palestinian Health Ministry on Tuesday.
However, according to Israeli Defense Forces, about 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants were found in southern Israel.
"This is a new peak in the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people," Aklouk told Xinhua.
Meanwhile, at least 1,008 people in Israel have been killed in the Hamas attacks, Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported on Tuesday.
Being a long-time peacemaker in the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and having a peace treaty with Israel since 1979, Egypt has been intensifying contacts with regional and international players in a bid to halt the ongoing escalation between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
"The Palestinian people are looking forward to an urgent, leading Egyptian role through Egypt's regional and international relations to stop the Israeli aggression and spare the bloodshed of the Palestinian people," said the Palestinian diplomat.
"Palestine, and the Gaza Strip in particular, is considered an integral part of Arab national security," he emphasized.
Aklouk said that the Palestinians also count on the roles of other Arab players including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan, as well as every Arab country that can help stop the ongoing Israeli aggression.
He regretted the duplicity of the United States and Europe in addressing the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
"The United States adopts a policy of double standards," Aklouk said.
Describing China's position on the Palestinian issue as "very balanced," Aklouk commended China's official position that considers the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as the fundamental way to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
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