UNITED NATIONS, Oct 5: "The Palestinian people are exposed to a virtual war of extermination," said Algeria's UN Ambassador Abdalla Baali, Monday as he asked the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding Israel stop major offensive in Gaza strip.

"The unfettered use of brutal force (by Israel) is terrifying," said Mr Baali as he tabled the resolution on behalf of the Arab nations asking Israel to stop the killings of Palestinians.

At least 80 Palestinians have been killed so far by the Israeli army. British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, the current council president, said there was "strong support for the thrust of the resolution" and negotiations would resume Tuesday afternoon. But US Ambassador John Danforth hurled a veto threat, and accused the 15-nation Security Council as well as the 191-member General Assembly of acting "as the adversary of Israel and the cheerleader of the Palestinians" rather than saying "stop it" to both sides.

Israel launched the offensive, code-named "Days of Reckoning," after a Palestinian rocket strike killed two children in the southern town of Sderot on Wednesday last.

Palestinian UN observer Nasser al-Kidwa said his leadership condemned the "rudimentary" Qassam rocket attacks by Palestinians and especially the killing of Israeli children. But he pointed out that Israel, over the last week had killed 83 people, including 20 children, wounded more than 350 others and demolished homes, using 2,000 soldiers, 100 tanks and a "massive use of helicopter gunship."

"Israel persists in committing war crimes and acts of state terrorism against the Palestinian people," Mr Al-Kidwa said. "There is no justification for this Israeli hysteria, for these widespread killings and deliberate destruction."

"Now there are hundreds of Palestinians without shelter as a result of that total demolition or partial demolition of their homes, tens of thousands without water or electricity and suffering from severe shortages of food and medicine, precipitating a genuine humanitarian tragedy," Al-Kidwa said.

'Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman said the Council had been galvanized into action not because of the murder of children but rather the defence of those murders.

"The meeting constituted an attempt to blame the victims of terror, not the perpetrators, he said, charging that as part of the broader Palestinian terrorist campaign, more than 460 Kassam rockets had been indiscriminately fired at Israel's civilian population, causing numerous deaths and injuries as well as the extensive destruction of property," he charged.

The Security Council is expected to vote Tuesday evening on the resolution, as negotiations to temper the language acceptable to the United States is being worked out. owever, diplomats here are convinced that US would veto the resolution no matter what language the negotiators come up with.