Hamas Accepts Peace Conference Proposal

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit gestures to waiting media as he arrives for an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers to decide how to respond to the latest Israeli offensive, at the League's headquarters in Cairo, Egypt Sunday, Nov. 12, 2006. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (Ben Curtis - AP)

It was the second U.S. veto of a draft resolution on Israeli military operations in Gaza this year.

"There will no longer be an international siege," said Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

The economic sanctions against Hamas have debilitated the Palestinians and have led to clashes between the Islamic militants and the more moderate Fatah party led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas has been trying to form a more moderate government and renew the peace process with Israel.

Arab banks have not transferred funds to the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority for fear of U.S.-led sanctions. The United States and European Union lists Hamas as a terrorist organization and takes steps against those who transfer funds to such groups. It was not immediately clear whether Arab banks would immediately begin transactions in response to Sunday's decision and if sanctions would be imposed if they did.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the decision to break the Western-lead financial blockade was a message to the United States.

"Our message is loud and clear to those who take unfriendly positions against Arabs," Moussa told reporters in Cairo.

In an immediate show of support, Kuwait's foreign minister said his country would send $30 million to the Palestinians, and Bahrain's foreign minister said the Arab countries would begin contacting international financial institutions to get the money transferred to the Palestinians.

Mohammed Awad, secretary general of the Palestinian Cabinet, said at least $52 million would be ready for immediate transfer. The Arab League should now be able to transfer the money to the government accounts instead of to the president's coffers, he said.

"Most banks follow their governments. They must remove the blockade," Awad told The Associated Press in Gaza City.

The money would go to paying salaries, Awad said.

The ministers also decided to ask the U.N. General Assembly to hold a special session to discuss the situation in the Palestinian territories.

Israeli artillery killed 19 civilians in a crowded Gaza neighborhood of Beit Hanoun on Wednesday, the latest bloodshed in an offensive meant to halt militant rocket attacks.

The incident marked the highest number of Palestinian civilians killed in a single strike since fighting erupted six years ago.