(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Adviser)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Tuesday, 15 July 2014), made the following statement at the start of his meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier:
"Foreign Minister Steinmeier, welcome. You're a great friend of Israel and an important statesman of Europe and the world and I appreciate deeply the fact that you are coming here at this particular time and this particular date.
As you know, Israel has accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, a goal that was and remains putting an end to rocket fire from Gaza on our cities, providing the citizens of Israel with the peace and quiet to which they are entitled.
I know that you know that no country would sit idly by while its civilian population is subjected to terrorist rocket fire. Israel is no exception. If Hamas rejects the Egyptian proposal, and the rocket fire from Gaza does not cease, and that appears to be the case now, we are prepared to continue and intensify our operation to protect our people. For this we have kept full support from the responsible members of the international community.
I want to thank the many world leaders including yourself who unequivocally condemn Hamas for the rocket fire on Israeli cities and for the clear-cut support for Israel's right to self-defense. So, in that spirit of friendship, welcome to Israel, welcome to Tel Aviv."