The UN Security Council Wednesday extended a welcome to the ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the three-week conflict.

"Members of the Security Council welcome the ceasefire in Gaza and the international and regional partners, in particular the Egyptian initiative, in helping bring this about," said a statement read to the press here by French UN Ambassador Jean- Maurice Ripert, who holds the presidency of the 15-member Security Council for January.

The Security Council adopted this statement, proposed by Britain and France, after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the council on his just-concluded Middle East tour, which has taken him to Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria.

"The members of the Security Council expressed their strong appreciation for the efforts of the secretary-general to support the implementation of resolution 1860," which calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire in Gaza but remained unheeded by Israelis and Hamas militants until the unilateral Israeli announcement of the ceasefire on Saturday.

"The members of the Security Council emphasized the need for full implementation of resolution 1860, in particular for the ceasefire to be durable, fully respected by all parties, for the provision of arrangements and guarantees to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition to Gaza, and to ensure the sustained reopening of the crossing points," the statement said.

"Members re-emphasized that only a two-state solution, with an independent and viable Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors, could bring peace to both Israelis and Palestinians," the statement added.

In response, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian permanent observer to the United Nations, told the press here that the speech by the UN chief at the Security Council and the council press statement are "appropriate".

Meanwhile, Mansour said that those Israelis who launched military action against Palestinians should be brought to justice.

Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire Saturday in its 22-day offensive that left more than 1,300 Palestinians killed and more than 5,400 others injured. Israel started to pull its forces out of Gaza on Wednesday, reports said.

In his briefing at the open council meeting, the UN secretary-general said: "A true end to violence, and lasting security for both Palestinians and Israelis, will only come through a just and comprehensive settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict."

"This effort must have at its center the implementation of the Security Council resolutions and the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative," he said. "We do not need new plans and processes. We have the tools we need. We need only political will and action. Peace has eluded us for far too long."

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2009)