VOA标准英语2009年-Israel to Continue Gaza Attacks Until Hamas Sto

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Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni addresses reporters following her meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Elysee Palace in Paris, 01 Jan 2009

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters that Israel would only decide whether or not to halt its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip based on a daily assessment³ of the situation.

A number of country's have called for Israel to accept a ceasefire, but Livni said any truce⁴ would be a pretext⁵ for the militant⁶ Palestinian group to rearm.

"We want to weaken Hamas in the Gaza Strip," said Tzipi Livni. "At the end of the day, Hamas is not only a problem to Israel but to the entire Palestinian people, they are a problem to those who understand what is the nature of Hamas. They are a problem to all the Arab states that understands they have their own radical⁷ elements back home, including Muslim brotherhoods⁸ in different places."

Livni spoke at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris following talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. She said President Sarkozy understands the threat Israel is facing from Hamas, which continues to launch rockets into Israeli territory.
　

A Palestinian boy stands next to destroyed houses after an Israeli missile strike in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, 01 Jan. 2009

While Mr. Sarkozy handed over the presidency⁹ of the European Union to the Czech Republic on New Year's Day, he appears determined¹⁰ to continue playing a prominent role in world affairs - including the Middle East conflict.

On Monday, the French president is to begin a tour of the Middle East that will take him to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Before his trip, Mr. Sarkozy is to meet Friday with the majority leader of Lebanon's parliament, Saad Hariri.

In a New Year's eve address, Mr. Sarkozy said it is France's duty to seek peace in the Middle East.