Rice to UN: Any Gaza cease-fire must include end to Hamas rocket attacks

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday told the UN Security Council that the United States understands "the urgency of an end to the fighting" in Gaza, and is working around the clock to achieve it. "In this regard, we are pleased by, and wish to commend, the statement of the president of Egypt and to follow up on that initiative," Rice said. But she cautioned that any solution must include an end to Hamas rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel, the opening of all borders in Gaza, and an end to arms smuggling into the Palestinian territory. "There must be a solution this time that does not allow Hamas to use Gaza as a launching pad against Israeli cities. It has to be a solution that does not allow the rearmament of Hamas, and it must be a solution that finds a way to open crossings so that Palestinians in Gaza can have a normal life," Rice said.