Israel said to reject UN call for ceasefire

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the UN Security Council call for an immediate ceasefire.

In a telephone conversation this afternoon, Netanyahu tells UN chief Ban Ki-Moon that the UN statement does not address Israel’s security concerns. He says the UN notice did not mention that Hamas is launching attacks on Israeli citizens, and that UN facilities are being used toward this aim.

Netanyahu also says that the world must ensure Gaza is demilitarized and that international donations do not go toward its terrorism infrastructure. Israel will continue to demolish the attack tunnels, and this is only the first stage of demilitarization, he says.

Netanyahu notes that Israel has agreed three times to the UN requests for humanitarian truces, but Hamas violated all three.

Earlier, the UN Security Council and Ban released separate statements calling for an immediate ceasefire.

“As people around the world mark Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan and a time for overcoming differences, the Secretary-General calls on parties to build on the current calm,” Ban’s spokesman says.

The suspension of fighting should be prolonged for an extra 24 hours to allow humanitarian efforts to continue, he says.

Ban “calls on the parties to renew a humanitarian pause in Gaza and reiterates his demand for a durable ceasefire that could set the ground for the start of comprehensive negotiations.”

The statement says: “With hundreds of Palestinians already killed in Gaza and horrifying levels of physical destruction, he urges those responsible to step back from provoking or inflicting yet more tragic violence on civilians there.”

Ban makes no mention of Hamas, rocket fire at southern Israel, or Israeli casualties in his remarks.

Meanwhile, rocket fire continues in the south, striking open areas in the Eshkol and Hof Ashkelon regions.

— AFP and Times of Israel staff