'Israel fighting terror'

Israel’s ambassador to Manila justified yesterday his country’s military operation in the Gaza Strip against Hamas targets, saying the attacks aimed to limit the militant group’s capacity to sow terror.

Ambassador Zvi Vapni also sought the international community’s support for the military operation, which he said would send the message to Hamas that it must stop terror and pursue negotiation.

“By fighting Hamas we are on the front line of the fight against extreme Islamic terror. Such organizations are trying all the time to enlarge their ability and add more hate, death and destruction, while inflicting pain and suffering on civilians, including their own,” Vapni said in a letter to The STAR.

“Any responsible government would do the same in the face of such attacks against its citizens. The international community should stand united behind Israel in its fight against terror. This might bring the message home to Gaza that terror must stop and negotiation commence,” he said.

The envoy stressed that it is important to understand what is really happening in the border between Gaza and Israel.

Vapni said that three years ago, Israel dismantled settlements and moved its army bases from Gaza to give its citizens an opportunity to reorganize their livelihood and live peacefully.

“But instead they gave their support to a radical Islamic terror organization called Hamas,” he said.

“Hamas, which rules Gaza, have one declared goal, which is to destroy Israel,” he added.

“Motivated by this ideology, they launched thousands of mortars and rockets on the civilian population in southern Israel. Again and again houses have been destroyed, children and adults were forced to move into shelters and a quarter of a million Israelis have been living in constant fear of walking the streets, while the hissing rocket kept on coming,” he added.

Vapni said Israel tried different ways to bring the message to the Hamas leadership that this situation should not go on because the government of Israel has a responsibility to protect its citizens against violence.

Israel, he said, temporarily closed border passages but it never stopped humanitarian aid from reaching the citizens of Gaza.

He said Israel had even called on Gaza residents to stop these attacks against Israeli civilians.

But last week, Vapni said Hamas renewed hostilities, prompting Israel to ask the UN to step in.

“Typically, Hamas stations itself and its rocket launchers at the heart of crowded civilian neighborhoods. This makes our activity very hard, but Israel will take care of its citizens and do whatever possible to bring them security,” he said.

Vapni emphasized that Israel will not prevent humanitarian from reaching Gaza.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Claro Cristobal said the Philippine Embassy in Israel reported no casualties among the 21 Filipino families living in the Gaza Strip.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Petronila Garcia said the embassy is closely coordinating with Filipino community leaders and monitoring the situation in Gaza.

On Saturday, Israel launched massive air strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

The airstrikes targeted police and security centers reportedly run by the Islamic Hamas movement.