Truce Must Guarantee Israeli Security: German Foreign Min
Sunday January 4th, 2009 / 14h04
BERLIN (AFP)--Germany called Sunday for efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza to intensify, but said that any truce must ensure Israel's long-term security.
"I am very worried by the further escalation of fighting," Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement. "This makes it all the more urgent to create the conditions for a ceasefire."
But he added: "This must guarantee Israel's long-term security. This doesn't only mean that Hamas at last stops firing rockets. The smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip must also be properly prevented."
The comments came as Israeli soldiers and tanks pushed into Gaza Sunday, after a week of aerial bombardment in which 460 Palestinians died, according to medics in Gaza.
Rocket fire from Gaza over the same period has killed four Israelis.
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