Israel "cannot accept" ceasefire with Hamas says Barak
Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:13pm GMT
http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE4BQ1V120081227

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel "cannot really accept" a cease-fire with
Hamas, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in a U.S. television
interview on Saturday, rejecting calls by the United Nations and the
European Union for a truce after Israeli air strikes killed 227 people in
Gaza.

"For us to be asked to have a cease-fire with Hamas is like asking you to
have a cease-fire with al Qaeda. It's something we cannot really accept,"
Barak told Fox News from Tel Aviv.

Asked whether Israel would follow up the air strikes with a ground
offensive, Barak said, "If boots on the ground will be needed, they will be
there."
"Our intention is to totally change the rules of the game," he said.

(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; editing by Chris Wilson)