Remarks by Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni at a Joint Press Conference following meeting with Foreign Ministers of the European Union - Brussels
FM LIVNI: A few weeks ago, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip after eight years in which Israeli civilians were under ongoing attacks from the Gaza Strip on a daily basis by Hamas, a terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip. During the operation, the goal was to change the equation after eight years in which Israel showed restraint. After an Egyptian-initiated truce that Israel accepted but Hamas exploited in order to smuggle weapons and change the range of missiles, we decided to act in order to regain deterrence.
We decided to stop the military operation the moment which, according to our evaluation, we achieved our goals. Now this is being tested. We stopped the military operation; we are looking to the other side. And since one of the goals was to stop the attacks on Israel, if they stop we have no need to continue the military operation. And right now they appear to have stopped, but this is being tested.
The other thing which is very problematic is the way Hamas is continuing to transfer weapons and re-arm their own military forces in the Gaza Strip. During the truce that was initiated, as I said before, by the Egyptians, Hamas exploited the situation to obtain longer-range weapons. Up until a few months ago, they could cover about 20 kilometers, and now it's about 50 kilometers. The difference in terms of Israeli civilians is from 250,000 Israeli civilians up to about a million Israeli civilians within missile range.
So it is clear that one of the goals of this operation, and this goal is shared by the international community, is to stop the smuggling of weapons being delivered by Iran to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This is a mutual goal since, at the end of the day, the division in our region is between moderates and extremists. On one hand, you have Israel and other moderate states and pragmatic leadership in the region, including the legitimate Palestinian government, and on the other hand, you have Hamas, Iran, Hizbullah and other radical elements in the region.
So the smuggling of weapons needs to be stopped. We are working on it with Egypt and the United States. We raised this issue with other member states of the EU, and today I raised it at our dinner. The idea is to work together with Egypt on stopping the smuggling routes from Iran to Egypt, since Israel’s right to self-defense includes not only the threat of missile fire but also the smuggling of weapons.
Israel left the Gaza Strip a few years ago. The idea behind leaving was to create a vision of hope and peace. Unfortunately, Hamas captured the Gaza Strip. And our abducted soldier, Gilad Shalit, is still in captivity there. So, from our perspective, this is not over.
The idea, of course, is to act according to a dual strategy: on one hand, to work with the legitimate Palestinian government to create or to translate the idea of two states for two peoples into a concrete peace treaty. But this can only work with the pragmatic Palestinian leadership as we all continue to delegitimize Hamas. The international community decided, after Hamas won the elections, that the only way to give legitimacy to them is if they accept the international requirements, including recognizing Israel’s right to exist, renouncing violence and terrorism, and accepting former agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.
According to this dual strategy, we launched the peace process in Annapolis. We are determined to continue this peace process with the legitimate Palestinian government while delegitimizing and acting against Hamas as a terrorist organization.
About the humanitarian issue that was discussed during dinner: the crossings are open for humanitarian needs, which accords with our values. We are working with the international community and international organizations to help meet the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip. This was also discussed during dinner, and we are willing to cooperate on this as far as needed. Thank you.
QUESTION: I've heard all the opening remarks. Can you tell us what you have actually achieved tonight?
FM LIVNI: From our perspective, we have achieved an understanding about the need to address the smuggling of weapons to the Gaza Strip. A durable and sustainable ceasefire also means the full cessation of weapons smuggling and the rearmament of Hamas in the future. We will be working on this with different EU member states. This was part of the understanding. Before this visit and during dinner, we discussed the different ways to: 1) help the Egyptians work on this point, and 2) address the various marine and Eastern African smuggling routes from Iran up to Egypt.
QUESTION: There are sufficient indications and evidence that the Israeli army has committed crimes against humanity and a lack of respect for human rights in Gaza. Are you, as an Israeli official, ready to respond to the international allegations?
FM LIVNI: The Israeli army operates according to international law, which corresponds with our values as well. Israel shares the same values as the international community and Europe, and we are working accordingly.
The difference between the Israeli soldiers and the terrorists in Hamas is that we are acting against terror, trying to avoid any kind of civilian casualties, while these terrorists are targeting civilians as part of their ideology. Unfortunately, they are working amongst civilians. Israel, trying to avoid any kind of civil casualties, declared before the military operation that we are going to enter. We sent leaflets from the air. We entered their media and the net to tell them which places we are entering. We made phone calls to houses and places where we knew they were manufacturing missiles or were Hamas headquarters, in order to avoid civilian casualties. But, unfortunately, it can happen.
Now, this kind of loss is painful, and the loss of a child is unimaginable to anybody - Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Jew. But I would like the international community to understand that we are defending our citizens, trying to avoid civil casualties while targeting terror. And I would like to be judged by the international community according to the same values that the international community works by. For example, in any legal system representing the values of each and every state, there is a huge difference between a murderer and somebody who kills by mistake. And this is the moral distinction between Hamas, who keeps these civilians hostage, and our soldiers.
So, please, I know that there are those who are trying to provoke and that there were civilian casualties during this operation. But the goal of this operation was to target Hamas, which is acting from within highly populated civilian areas.
I would like to add one thing about Hamas and Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs to be solved through a dialogue between Israel and the legitimate Palestinian government represented by President Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Hamas doesn't represent any kind of legitimate Palestinian aspiration. It represents an ideology of hatred and what they call "resistance." So hope for Palestinians, and Israelis as well, lies in the peace process track with the legitimate Palestinian government while all of us need to work against extremism and the kind of terror being used by Hamas.
So having an agreement between Israel and Hamas at the end of the military operation is not the right idea. This is an ongoing war against terror, not against the Palestinians. The only thing needed is an international understanding and coalition against terror, not something that ends with an agreement with them. There is, as I said before, an unresolved, painful issue for every Israeli, and this is the fact that the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is still in captivity. This has to do with Hamas and needs be answered, the sooner the better.