(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni made the following statement at the beginning of her meeting today (November 8) with her Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Stoere:
"Israel left Gaza in order to give the Palestinians an opportunity to control terrorism and develop their own lives. Unfortunately, this has not happened. Israel is faced with constant attack by the Palestinian terror organizations, in the form of relentless firing of Kassam rockets at Israeli population centers. Israel has no desire to harm innocent people, but only to defend its citizens. Unfortunately, in the course of battle, regrettable incidents such as that which occurred this morning do happen. Israeli diplomatic missions throughout the world have been instructed to explain the Israeli position to decision-makers and the media."