UNITED NATIONS: Arab nations are calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and immediate action to end what they say is Israel’s “outrageous onslaught” against Palestinians, especially in Gaza.

France and Germany, on the other hand, condemned the rocket attacks against Israel while the United States urged Israel and the Palestinians to de-escalate tensions and expressed concern for the safety of civilians on both sides as Israel pressed a campaign of air strikes and militants kept up rocket fire at Israel’s heartland.

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour and ambassadors representing Arab, Islamic and non-aligned nations say that they expect an urgent council meeting to be held very soon. They spoke to reporters after meeting the Security Council president.

“We want the Security Council to shoulder its responsibility and stop this aggression against our people,” Mansour said.

He urged the council to adopt a presidential statement or a resolution to protect the Palestinian people and hold those responsible for the attacks accountable.

This will likely prove difficult because of deep divisions in the council, including the strong US support for Israel.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing that US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in China, had spoken earlier in the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and planned to speak with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “over the next 24 hours.”

Psaki said US officials have been “encouraging all sides to de-escalate the situation,” restore calm and take steps to protect civilians. She said White House Middle East coordinator Philip Gordon was in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Wednesday and had met with Abbas.

“We are concerned about the safety and security of civilians on both sides,” she said, referring to “the residents of southern Israel who are forced to live under rocket fire in their homes and the civilians in Gaza.”

Psaki underscored the US view that Israel has the right to defend itself against the rocket attacks.

“Certainly, no country should be expected to stand by while rocket attacks from a terrorist organization are launching into their country and impacting innocent civilians,” Psaki told reporters, referring to Hamas.

In discussions with Netanyahu, she said Kerry had expressed US “willingness to engage in helping to stop the rocket fire and restore the 2012 cease-fire as soon as possible.”

In Paris, French President Francois Hollande called the Israeli prime minister and “expressed France’s solidarity (with Israel) in the face of rocket fire from Gaza.”

Hollande also said that it was up to Israel “to take all measures to protect its population in the face of threats” but reminded the Israeli premier “of the need to prevent an escalation of violence.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also talked by phone with Netanyahu and condemned rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, a government spokeswoman said.

“The chancellor today telephoned Mr. Netanyahu and condemned without reservation rocket fire on Israel,” she said.