CAIRO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Egypt has urged Israel to halt what it described as collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza and called on Islamist group Hamas to stop firing rockets into the Jewish state, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday to warn him of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Egypt's state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. Large parts of the coastal strip plunged into darkness on Sunday when its main power plant shut down after Israel blocked fuel supplies and closed the border to the Hamas-run territory. Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal spoke by telephone to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who briefed him on international efforts to make Israel "end this tragedy immediately", Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said. "Israel has a clear international obligation as an occupying force," Zaki said. "The collective punishment should stop immediately." Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation but it still controls its borders and supplies. The Jewish state said the blockade was in response to rocket attacks from Gaza. Zaki said Egypt's advice to Hamas has always been to stop firing rockets. "They are of no value and only provoke Israel," he told Reuters. "We also want them (Hamas) to end their coup so that legitimacy can return to Gaza." Egypt reacted angrily when Hamas drove the forces of Fatah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's group, out of Gaza in June. Cairo moved its diplomatic mission to Ramallah in the West Bank, where Fatah still holds sway, and urged all Palestinians to rally behind Abbas. The Cairo-based Arab League will hold an emergency session of permanent representatives on Monday to discuss Gaza. (Reporting by Alaa Shahine; Editing by Charles Dick)
Palestinian children hold candles during a protest against severe fuel cuts, which led to a power cut, in Gaza January 20, 2008. Gaza's main power plant shut down completely on Sunday ...
