S Arabia calls emergency Gulf summit today

RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Arabia has called an emergency summit of Gulf countries in Riyadh on Thursday (today) to discuss the Gaza Strip crisis, state news agency SPA said Wednesday.
Saudi King Abdullah called the summit due to escalating tensions "resulting from the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people," SPA said.
He called for a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders, which groups Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
The Saudi move came after Qatar pushed ahead with its plans for an Arab League summit in Doha Friday on Israel's 19 day old assault on Gaza, even though Riyadh and Cairo, two of the Arab world's most powerful governments, have refused to attend.
Riyadh's call for the meeting on Thursday comes amid reports that Gaza's ruling faction Hamas has agreed to an Egypt-mediated ceasefire plan, which could make an Arab League summit unnecessary, to end the war.
"We have obtained Hamas' agreement and are awaiting the response from Israel," whose envoy is due in Cairo on Thursday (today), a senior Egyptian diplomat told AFP, requesting anonymity.
"We will see when (Israeli defence official) Amos Gilad comes," he added, putting the ball in the Israeli camp. Gilad is due in Cairo on Thursday.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos also told reporters in Jerusalem earlier that Hamas has accepted the Egyptian initiative.
Meanwhile, a senior government official said Turkey is ready to participate in a planned monitoring mission along the border between Egypt and Gaza, a key point in a ceasefire plan proposed by Egypt.
"One of the components of the plan is a monitoring mission that will ensure secure passage through the border gates," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
The White House expressed scepticism in the face of reports that Hamas will accept an Egyptian ceasefire.
"Let's wait and see what Hamas really does," spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters in Washington.
"We have every right to be sceptical of things that you see in the newspapers reported about Hamas and so I think we need to wait and see what actually happens," said Perino.
Meanwhile, Arab League chief Amr Mussa said that the 22-member organisation has failed to come up with the two-thirds quorum needed to convene an emergency summit on Israel's Gaza offensive. "So far, the quorum has not been reached. There are only 14 member-countries," who have accepted a call by Qatar to hold a summit on Friday in Doha, Mussa told reporters.
He insisted that 15 member countries must give their approval for a summit in order to reach the two-thirds quorum needed to convene an emergency meeting of Arab leaders.
"The image of Arab countries is very bad," said Mussa in reference to Arab divisions on whether to hold a summit.