VIDEO - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner for talks on the situation in Gaza. Livni told Kouchner that Israel was rejecting his country's 'humanitarian ceasefire' proposal.
Officials in Livni's office said no humanitarian crisis exists in Gaza, therefore there is no need for a ceasefire of this sort.
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| Livni in Paris (Video: Reuters) |
During their meeting in Paris Kouchner condemned the rocket fire from Gaza towards the southern communities of Israel and said that his country sees Hamas as a terror organization. However he also warned against allowing an escalation of violence.
Livni supplied Kouchner with data on the humanitarian aid that Israel has been transferring to the Strip. She said no humanitarian crisis existed in Gaza as Israel was continuing to send in supplies throughout the operation. Hamas is the organization responsible for the suffering of the residents of the Strip, she told Kouchner.
She added that Israel aspires to peace, like the rest of the international community, but that Hamas should not receive legitimacy in attempts to revive ceasefire negotiations.
Livni said Israel had a right to defend itself and its citizens, and for this reason had embarked on the military operation in Gaza. She said any other country would have done the same.
At the end of the meeting Livni stated that any Israeli decision to end fighting in Gaza will depend on a daily assessment of its military operations against Hamas.
Livni said Israel has "affected most of the infrastructure of terrorism" in Gaza, and that a truce would depend on Hamas suspending rocket attacks on southern Israel.
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