'NGO report fails to face reality of deteriorating Gaza situation'

By ITAMAR SHARON
The Foreign Ministry on Thursday refuted a report by a coalition of eight British-based human rights organizations which blames Israel for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. "Unfortunately, and not for the first time, these organizations fail to face the reality and sequence of events leading to the deteriorating situation in the southern regions of Israel, as well as in the Gaza Strip," an official ministry statement asserted. "If only the Palestinians chose to cease their pointless and indiscriminate firing of rockets and missiles against hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians, the entire region would return to a normal routine in which Palestinians and Israelis could once again enjoy their daily lives."