"We urge all countries to cooperate with Egypt to allow Palestinians to have a state and we call upon the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to avoid bloodshed," said the Egyptian president.

The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who chaired a meeting of the Security Council in New York, would not give details of the cease-fire, pending an Israeli response. But he recalled that "the cessation of violence is the immediate priority."

The Israeli authorities have refused to comment on this initiative which comes in the wake of diplomatic ballet United States and other countries concerned to resolve the conflict.

The President-elect Barack Obama has broken his silence on the crisis Tuesday, saying that "the loss of civilian lives in Gaza is a major concern for him." He refused to say more as long as George W. Bush is the president of the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Security Council that the United States, the closest ally of Israel, include "the urgency to stop fighting and work 24 24. "From this point of view, we welcome the initiative of Egyptian President, and we agree," said Rice.

She added that any solution had to put an end to the firing of rockets and mortar attacks on southern Israel, while including the opening of all borders of Gaza and end arms smuggling into Palestinian territory. "There must be a solution this time that no longer Hamas to use Gaza as a launching pad against Israel. The solution is to prevent rearmament of Hamas, and allow the opening of borders a normal life for Palestinians" she summary.