British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday denounced the barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian terror factions into Israel, saying "I utterly condemn rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas and other armed groups."
"Hamas bears principal responsibility for the current crisis," Hague continued, adding that the rocket fire "creates an intolerable situation for Israeli civilians in southern Israel, who have the right to live without fear of attack from Gaza."
Hague called terror groups in Gaza immediately to cease attacks against Israel, and called "on those in the region with influence over Hamas to use that influence to bring about an end to the attacks."
As headlined, it is a sad day when it is unusual for a major world leader to point out the Hamas attacks on civilians in Israel and to then point out that this is the primary cause of the escalation.
Hague went on to call for implementation of the two state solution, but if every step that gives something towards building a peace -- such as the 100% Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 -- ends up being used as a platform for attacks, that is not looking like a realistic solution. END
