Hamas cannot possibly say that it is firing rockets at Israel because of the “occupation”, President Shimon Peres said on Sunday.

Peres made the remarks during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who arrived for a series of talks with Israel and the Palestinian Authority because of the escalation in the south.

“The State of Israel has been left with no option other than to defend itself,” Peres told Fabius. “It cannot be argued that Gaza is occupied. Israel left Gaza willingly (during the disengagement in 2005 –ed.), yet they target our children as they are leaving for school. The question, therefore, is why are they firing? We must understand that we are talking of millions of innocent people in southern Israel who cannot close their eyes for fear of the rockets.”

Peres emphasized that Israel seeks peace and is not interested in war, but clarified, “Israel’s goal is to put an end to the firing on the south and to enable mothers a quiet, continuous night’s sleep that has not been possible for some time. Our goal is to return to a normal routine.”

via Peres: There is No ‘Occupation’ in Gaza – Middle East – News – Israel National News.

Categories: Israel in the News