Arab countries have decided to push the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution urging Israel to halt military operations in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

The Arab League (AL) has asked ambassadors of Arab countries to the UN to draft a resolution to be submitted to the Security Council, the ministry said in a statement.

The nine-item draft calls for ending violence, especially "Israeli aggressions against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank," while asking Israel to withdraw its forces from reoccupied areas in the Gaza Strip.

The draft also calls for releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for release of an abducted Israeli soldier, while asking Israel to release Palestinian lawmakers and ministers arrested by Israeli troops in the West Bank following the abduction of Gilad Shalit on June 25.

Palestinian militant groups holding Shalit demanded that Israel release about 500 prisoners, including women, minor and aged prisoners, for return of the 19-year-old captive, a request rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

More than 40 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli operations on the Gaza Strip aimed at freeing Shalit and stopping Palestinian rocket firing.

Source: Xinhua