(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met this morning with British Foreign Sectretary Philip Hammond.

FM Liberman told Secretary Hammond that Israel expects special understanding on the part of the the British. During one of the most difficult but greatest hours of Great Britain, when London was bombed during World War II, we learned from Churchill that even if the price is blood, sweat and tears, a nation that wants to survive must fight for its freedom. We, too, cannot allow Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or the cities in the south to be threatened by rockets, and we must act with determination to allow the citizens of Israel the freedom to live normal lives. Hamas is not interested in a two-state solution. The aims of Hamas are very similar to those of the Nazis - the annihilation of the Jews - and Hamas' fate and the fate of its leaders must be the same.

FM Liberman also noted during the meeting his satisfaction at the decision by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to investigate the rockets caches uncovered in UNRWA schools in Gaza and the fact that these rockets were returned to Hamas. This is an important first step, but the international community must do much more to make it clear that terror and terrorists will receive no concessions.