President Reuven Rivlin says he is not against negotiations with Hamas, and that both Israel and the Palestinians share an interest in improving the quality of life of residents of the Gaza Strip.
“I have no fear of negotiations with whoever is willing to speak to us,” the president says during a tour of the north, according to NRG.
“Restoring the Gaza Strip is in our interest,” says Rivlin, commenting on the firing of a rocket toward Israel yesterday evening, which turned out to be the result of internecine fighting among rival groups inside the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas official was quoted by NRG as saying that “the shooting [of the rocket] is not conducive to keeping the calm and the works to restore the Strip. Those who fire the rockets are crazy, they don’t think of the repercussions.” The official confirmed that there were talks with Israel, but said they were indirect and done with Egyptian mediation.
During his tour, Rivlin says that the IDF will respond to any shooting directed at Israel, but that a distinction should nevertheless be made between terror groups and civilians.
“We are without a doubt with the residents of Gaza in our hearts. We and the world are not succeeding in reaching the point where Gaza is restored. An international initiative with Israeli accompaniment is necessary so that the hostility against us will end,” says the president.
President Reuven Rivlin looks through binoculars during a visit to Israel’s northern district border on May 27, 2015. (Mark Neyman/GPO)
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Wednesday, May 27, 2015
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