PM Netanyahu's Statement at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Monday, 28 July 2014), at =

the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, issued the following statement:

"First, I would like to share in the grief of the families whose dear ones =

have fallen. They have fallen in defense of the nation and we all mourn =

their passing. There is no more just war than this one that our heroic sons =

are fighting. I would like to support the soldiers of the IDF who, even now=
, =

are continuing to operate inside the Gaza Strip against our enemies

We knew that there would be difficult days; this has been a difficult and =

painful day. Patience and determination are needed in order to continue the =

struggle against a murderous terrorist organization that aspires to our =

destruction. We are, at present, continuing to take action to neutralize an=
d =

strike at the terrorist tunnels. We will not complete the mission, we will =

not complete the operation, without neutralizing the tunnels, the sole =

purpose of which is the destruction of our civilians and the killing of our =

children. This is the clear and unequivocal objective of the State of Israe=
l =

and the need for it has been apparent again today.

The operation against the tunnels is a first and necessary step in the =

demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. The process of preventing the arming of =

the terrorist organization and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip must be part o=
f =

any solution. The international community needs to demand this explicitly. =

Instead of the international community allowing funds to enter the Gaza =

Strip, via Hamas, for concrete and cement to serve in the unlimited =

construction of tunnels, there must be monitoring and supervision. In the =

past, when we raised these demands and these concerns of ours, we were not =

taken seriously. This has to change. It cannot be that citizens of the Stat=
e =

of Israel will live under the deadly threats of missiles and infiltration =

through tunnels =96 death from above and death from below.

Hamas has violated every ceasefire proposal. We face a cruel enemy whose =

brutality is directed not only against us, against our civilians, but is =

also directed against his own civilians. It exploits their civilians in =

order for there to be more and more victims even as they send fire and deat=
h =

toward us."
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