European Union Presidency (May 16): "The EU Presidency condemns in the strongest possible terms the Kassam missile attacks launched from the Gaza Strip against Israeli territory which have caused many injuries during the last few days and appeals to Palestinian leaders to do everything in their power to stop them. An escalation of violence must be prevented."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (May 16): "The Secretary-General is profoundly concerned at the escalation of violence in Gaza and the growing number of casualties... Equally unacceptable is the firing by Palestinian militants of rockets in to Israel, targeting and injuring civilians.
The Secretary-General calls on all Palestinian factions to cease immediately all acts of violence. He calls on President Mahmous Abbas, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and the Palestinian Authority Government to bring violence to an end and restore calm..."
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Margaret Beckett (May 17): "I remain deeply worrked by the continuing violence between militias in the Gaza Strip... I also deplore rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel, attacks that are bringing suffering to Isaeli cilivians... I call on all parties to refrain from violence and to restore to the people of Gaza and nearby Israeli cpmmunities the security that they need and deserve."
US State Department Spokesman McCormack daily briefing (May 17): "Violence perpetrated by Hamas, as we have seen recently, doesn't further the cause of peace. What it does is result in the deaths of innocent civilians and it also underscores the importance of reaching those political accommodations on the Israeli-Palestinian track among those individuals who are committed to peace like Prime Minister Olmert, like President Abbas, and the people around him and that work directly for him.
We would hope that Hamas would make another choice; in making a choice for peace, in making a choice for a Palestinian state, because the only way that they're going to see that is via the negotiating table. They're not going to see it by launching Qassam rockets into Israel. They're not going to see it by attacking the legitimate security forces of the Palestinian Authority. They're not going to see it by sending young people armed with suicide vests to blow up other Israeli youngsters."
(May 18): "This all started with Hamas not only attacking the legitimate security forces in the Gaza Strip, but also starting a stepped-up campaign of rocket launches against Israel. So they are the culprits in terms of this new wave of violence. We want to see an end to the violence as does everybody else. We are quite concerned about the Palestinian people. But the way to bring this about is for Hamas to start making those decisions that the international community has asked them to make and also to support President Abbas in his efforts to bring not only order to the Gaza Strip, but also to preserve and extend the possibilities for the Palestinian people in realizing a Palestinian state via the negotiating table...
The Israeli Government has a right to defend itself. But we have made it clear to them that it's important that in doing so they need to take into account the importance of not doing damage to the Palestinian infrastructure, avoiding loss of innocent life, as well as keeping in mind the consequences of their actions on the possibility of moving forward the Israeli-Palestinian track.
Over the past several weeks, or past months, they have been subject to regular missile attacks against the Israeli people. And during that period of time they had shown great restraint. So it's a very difficult situation in which the victims are innocent people, the Palestinians and Israelis. And the culprit through this new wave of violence is really Hamas and most particularly the so-called military wing of Hamas. They need to bring an end to it. And they also, beyond that, need to take those steps that the international community has asked them to take and that really the Palestinian people want them to take in the name of potentially realizing a Palestinian state...
Instead of asking the United States about a ceasefire, people might do well to put pressure on Hamas to end not only the violence that they have perpetrated and are perpetrating in Gaza and into Israel via the Qassam rockets, but also put pressure on them to end the use of terror as a tactic. This is what the international system has asked them to do. And I think we need to continually focus the spotlight on the fact that it is Hamas that is responsible for this violence."
Quartet Joint Statement (May 30): "The Quartet strongly condemned the continued firing of Qassam rockets into Southern Israel as well as the buildup of arms by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. It endorsed PA President Abbas' call for an immediate end to such violence, and called upon all elements of the PA government and all Palestinian groups to cooperate with President Abbas to that end." |