Israel to continue Gaza operation, rejects UNSC ceasefire resolution

Jerusalem, Jan 9 (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Friday that the IDF operation in Gaza would continue despite the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

"Israel has never agreed to an outside actor determining its right to defend its citizens," Olmert said in a statement issued following the Security Cabinet discussion on the UNSC resolution.

"The IDF will continue to work to defend Israeli citizens and will carry out all the objectives it was given in the operation," The Jerusalem Post quoted him, as saying.

Olmert said that the rocket fire from Gaza on Friday morning "only proves that the UN resolution is not practical and will not be honored by the murderous Palestinian organizations," Olmert added.

Earlier on Friday, Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni convened for a preliminary consultation on the UNSC Gaza truce resolution ahead of the Security Cabinet meeting scheduled for later in the day.

Livni also released a statement on Friday morning regarding the resolution in which she stressed Israel's independence in defining its goals.

"Israel's past, present and future actions are based solely on its considerations, the security of Israel's residents and its right to self-defense," she said.

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas envoy to Lebanon, also rejected the UNSC call for a ceasefire, telling the al-Arabiya satellite channel that the group "is not interested in it because it does not meet the demands of the movement."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the UN failed to consider the interests of the Palestinian people. (ANI)