(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Saturday, 19 July 2014), met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and told him at the start of their meeting, "I don't think the international community should create any kind of symmetry between a democracy legitimately acting in its own self-defense trying to avoid civilian casualties and a terrorist organization that deliberately targets millions of innocent civilians. I know it's not the position of France and I think it shouldn't be the position of anyone in the international community."
Prime Minister Netanyahu also spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and told him about the missiles that were found at a UN school in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that
Hamas is hiding rockets in schools and firing them at Israeli schools and noted that Hamas is using schools, residences,
mosques and hospitals in order to launch rockets at Israeli civilians. He added that since
Hamas is using innocent civilians as human shields for its terrorist activities, it is responsible if civilians are inadvertently hit.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Friday evening, 18 July 2014) spoke with US President Barack Obama. During their conversation a siren was heard as a result of missile fire from Gaza to Israel and the Prime Minister explained that this was the reality in which millions of Israelis have been living recently.
Prime Minister Netanyahu told US President Obama that Hamas was using the residents of Gaza as human shields, as was seen yesterday when
munitions were discovered in a UN school in Gaza, and added that, therefore, Hamas was responsible for injuries to the residents of Gaza.
Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked US President Obama for America's support of Israel's right to defend itself and for the partnership in developing the Iron Dome system.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Friday, 18 July 2014) spoke with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and asked him to publish photographs showing the
munitions that were hidden in a UN school in Gaza and which were discovered yesterday. The Prime Minister added that Hamas conceals ammunition in schools and fires it at schools in Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that there is no symmetry between a murderous terrorist organization and a moral and democratic state that is under attack by missiles and tunnels.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel regrets any inadvertent strike on Palestinian civilians, whereas Hamas intentionally fires at millions of Israeli civilians.