(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)

Foreign Minister Avigdor Libemran met a short while ago (23 July 2014) with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

FM Liberman told the Secretary General that Israel is deeply concerned by the uncovering of Hamas rockets in UNRWA schools. These schools were set up in order to provide education to the children of Gaza, and instead they are providing cover for rockets meant to kill children in Israael. FM Liberman also protested the fact that once uncovered, UNRWA returned the rockets to Hamas instead of handing them over to Israel, noting that this is unacceptable.

FM Liberman said that the Middle East is currently in the midst of a huge tsunami - not because of what is happening in Gaza, but because of events in Syria, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere. This reality is not reflected in some of the United Nations bodies, such as the Human Rights Council, where such states as Cuba and Venezuela approve resolutions condemning Israel. We have not seen any condemnation of the murder of 3,000 Palestinians in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. This was not discussed at any international forum, or even by the Palestinian Authority itself, added FM Liberman. This is part of the hypocrisy of the international community. FM Liberman told the Secretary General that he expects him to act against these anti-Israeli resolutions which are put forward in the UN institutions and today in Geneva.

After the operation ends, said FM Liberman, we must find a mechanism that will ensure that the materials that enter Gaza will in fact be used for humanitarian purposes, and not as we see today, when for example the cement was used to build fortified terror tunnels instead of houses for the people.