Livni: We'll respond to Gaza fire with military measures
Following Mashaal's statement regarding possible end to ceasefire, FM says 'Israel will use all means necessary if Hamas continues implementing terror'
"Any fire emanating from Gaza compels us to protect our citizens," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday, "if Hamas continues implementing terror Israel will have no choice but to use the means at its disposal."
Speaking after a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Dr. Michael Spindelegger, she added that "the government has a responsibility to the people and it must use military measures in order to respond to terror acts portrayed against it. We cannot leave the Gaza Strip to Hamas."
Hamas' leader in exile Khaled Mashaal said the Islamist group will not renew a six-month old truce with Israel that expires December 19, but a Hamas spokesman in Gaza said the group has yet to reach a final decision on the matter.
Earlier in the day Livni convened senior officials from security establishment and the foreign and justice ministries to discuss Israel's "humanitarian policy" towards Hamas in Gaza, after which it was decided that Foreign Ministry Director-General Aharon Abramovich would be tasked with examining the transfer of funds to Gaza and the continued cooperation between Israeli and Gazan banks.
During the meeting it was stressed that Israel was obligated to lend humanitarian aid in accordance with the 1994 Paris Protocol on Economic Relations between the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Israel's banks are planning to sever all ties to Gaza's banks by end of the year for fear funds transferred to the Hamas-controlled enclave are being used for terror-related purposes, thus subjecting them to possible legal suits.
According to Sderot Mayor David Bouskilla, Israel should not let Hamas dictate its agenda. "There was no ceasefire here; it was merely a façade. Dozens, if not hundreds of rockets were fired towards south Israel this month. Anyone naïve enough to consider this a truce is sorely mistaken," he said.
"I would like to see a government that acts with resolve to stop the rocket fire and stifle Hamas."
Ashkelon Deputy Mayor Shimon Cohen said Israel should not have agreed to a ceasefire in the first place. "We mustn't allow these evil-doers decide for us, and it is very saddening to see that we are conducting ourselves according to their timetable," he said.
"We are a sovereign state; we have an army and a security establishment that can let us determine the nature of our agreements with them."
