(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met this morning (Wednesday, 7 July 2014) at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem with a delegation of German parliamentarians who came to show solidarity and to express support for Israel. FM Liberman thanked them for their support and voiced his appreciation of the positions adopted by Germany in the European Union and other international forums with regard to Israel.

FM Liberman said that what is happening today in the Middle East is a colliding of civilizations between the free world and radical Islam, and what is happening in Gaza is only one manifestation of this - one of a long list of conflicts: in Libya, in Iraq, and elsewhere. This struggle is the greatest challenge facing the free world since World War II, and Europe must be committed to supporting Israel. Beyond the moral aspects of the issue, Israel is the vanguard on this front, because it represents Western values. This is why Islamic extremists are fighting Israel, said Liberman, and added that he is not sure that everyone in Europe understands this.

FM Liberman stressed that, with regard to Gaza, Israel has done what the international community and Europe advocated for years, dismantling all the Israeli communities there. In return, instead of peace and stability, we received radical Islam, which has been attacking Israel from Gaza with rockets and other terrorist activities, virtually since the day Israel disengaged from Gaza.

Hamas does not advocate the establishment of a Palestinian state or  a two-state solution, but the establishment of a single, large Islamic state, said Liberman.

What is important for the future is the creation of a control mechanism that will ensure that the funds and building materials that enter Gaza will be used solely for the building of civilian infrastructures - such as schools and health clinics - and not to produce rockets or to dig new tunnels.