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President Shimon Peres. (Tess Scheflan)
Last update - 22:34 31/12/2008
Livni: We will not allow thugs to rule the Middle East
By Yuval Goren, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Tzipi Livni, Hamas 

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, on a tour of rocket-battered Be'er Sheva Wednesday, said Israel will not allow Hamas "thugs" to rule in the Middle East.

"We have made a change in the equation, gone are the days in which Hamas fired at us and we kept quiet," Livni said. "They erred in thinking that when Israel restrained itself, it would not respond."


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Livni said Israel cares about its citizens while at the same time Hamas does not care about its own.

"They use women and children in order to defend terrorists. We will not allow these thugs to rule in the Middle East," she said.

Earlier, President Shimon Peres visited Ashkelon as Qassam rockets pounded the southern city, and vowed that "the IDF is ready for any scenario."

During his tour, Peres met with Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin and officers from the Home Front Command, and was given an assessment of the security situation in the city.

Peres also visited the city's Barzilai Hospital, where he met with Bedouin laborers wounded by a Qassam strike on Monday that killed 27-year-old Israeli construction worker Hani al Mahdi, from the Bedouin village of Aroer.

Peres refused to elaborate on how long he thinks the IDF operation will last, but did say that "our army shows sensitivity and doesn't hurt civilians as much as possible, even though the terrorists hiding in family homes."

Peres added "this is not a war that we started; it is a provocation that had carried on for months. We left Gaza and we have no interest there."

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      1.   Sheer cant and hyprocrisy from Peres 16:09  |  Clickfool 31/12/08
      2.   IDF ready for anything 18:31  |  Shimon Cleopas 31/12/08
      3.   hey smilie:those were oldmert`s words in the lebanon war and look 19:35  |  glenna 31/12/08
      4.   Well Said, Tzipi 22:53  |  Maynard 31/12/08
      5.   Clickfool: It`s the rockets stupid 23:24  |  Peter Williams 31/12/08
      6.   Only room for Israeli thugs 23:32  |  Kenb 31/12/08
      7.   LOL Thugs = Israel 00:35  |  Jack 01/01/09
      8.   Come on clickfool! Think about it! 01:00  |  Hannah 01/01/09
      9.   livini 01:30  |  azad 01/01/09
      10.   Livni Claims Israel cares about its citizens. 01:44  |  Steven M. 01/01/09
      11.   "If you prick us, do we not bleed"? 01:51  |  Manny Goldstein 01/01/09
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    More Headlines
    19:46 IDF kills Hamas Interior Minister; Hamas security chief, militant leader also thought dead
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    19:15 Boy, 7, seriously hurt as Gaza rockets slam into Be'er Sheva
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