WASHINGTON: The Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni said the attack against Hamas is an expression of self defense by his country and would not end till the time the Hamas realizes that it has to stop all terrorist activities against Israelis.
"Until a moment in which we have Hamas weaker, in which we know that they understand that Israel is not willing to live in realities in which our citizens are being targeted, and this is a combination between the military ability and the motivation, and we are working on both sides," Livni said on CNN in an interview when asked how long the war against Hamas would continue.
Livni said there can't be a truce or ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, simply because one is country and other is a terrorist organization. "Will you accept ceasefire," CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour asked.
"There is one thing that frustrates me. The idea of saying something like, Israel and Hamas need to stop. A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, it's not the same. I'm not willing to put Israel and Hamas in the same package or even use the same wording, because, as you said before, we are expressing our right of self- defence," said the Foreign Minister.
"Israel is a state which is a member of the international community, while Hamas is a terrorist organization. Israel acts against Hamas because it targets Israel. So they know what to do in order to stop it," Livni said.
If Hamas does not stop attacking Israel, Livni said Israel would take all necessary steps. "It can be during this operation. It can be done later," he said.
"At the end of the day, they need to understand that we are determined this time to change reality for our citizens. The idea is not to act against the population in Gaza strip. It's not about who controls Gaza strip," he said.
The Israeli Foreign Minister said Hamas had threatened to kidnap Israeli soldiers if they entered the Gaza. "But they did try to...," he was asked. "Oh, yes. Oh, yes," Livni responded.
