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Israel's Statement to the Security Council on Palestinian Rocket Fire from Gaza

[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs] Daniel Carmon - Israeli Charge d'Affaires Daniel Carmon told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday: Israel has exercised restraint for many months now. This has been in spite of the constant firing of rockets and mortar shells on our towns and villages in southern Israel, every single hour, every single day. While Israel has been showing restraint, Hamas has showed no intention of ceasing its vicious attacks. Since Wednesday, more than 150 rockets were fired at Israel, dozens in the past 24 hours alone. More than a quarter of a million Israeli citizens are in the range of the deadly and murderous weapons of Hamas. The government of Israel should thus not apologize for protecting its citizens. No responsible member state would sit back in silence and do nothing as its citizens and territory are under constant attack. The alarms in Sderot - and now Ashkelon - gave Israeli civilians less than 15 seconds before the rocket slams into their lives, their homes, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, and playgrounds. And their lives are destroyed forever. Hamas not only seeks to kill Israelis; it has no concern for its own civilians. It fires rockets from populated civilian areas, using their civilians as human shields. This is a war crime against both Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestinians in Gaza are victims of Hamas' regime of terror. It is not only Israelis. We are all being held hostage by Hamas, the real and only occupier in Gaza through its terror. There should be no doubt in our minds that Hamas' true vision is the extermination of the State of Israel, and not to live peacefully side by side with us. It does not even seek to restore normalcy for the sake of the people of Gaza. Hamas bears sole responsibility for the violence. Sitting on the sidelines will only embolden the extremists and convince them that they should not stop their violence. Israel expects the international community to support us in our protection of our people.
2008-03-03 01:00:00
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