Terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have increased the number of Qassam rockets that they fire into bordering Israeli communities. One Israeli was killed and several others have been wounded in the latest barrage of rockets.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with the Secretary General of the European Union (EU), Javier Solana in the Israeli community of Sderot Monday evening. At the meeting FM Livni pleaded with the EU and the international community to support the State of Israel in stopping these terrorist attacks. She said that the Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip are in an unbearable situation. She accused the Hamas led Palestinian government of sponsoring terror and warned that Israel would no longer tolerate attacks on civilians.

Defense Minister Perez met with Dr. Solana and mentioned an imminent ground offensive into the Gaza if the rocket attacks did not cease immediately. The state of Israel is making the international community aware of its right to defend her citizens from constant terror attacks.

Over 1000 Qassam rockets have fallen on the Israeli town of Sderot since Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip last year. Monday evening, only minutes before the press conference between FM Livni and Dr. Solana, a Qassam rocket exploded near the community center where the meeting was to be held. A 32 year old Israeli woman died on the way to the hospital as a result of the attack. Two other Qassam rockets rained down on Sderot only minutes after the meeting concluded. The citizens of Sderot came out in large numbers to express their frustration with the Israeli government's inaction in stopping the rocket attacks.

One Sderot citizen at the demonstration expressed his desire to see an immediate ground offensive into Gaza to root out the Qassam rocket crews that continually shoot at their city. He stated that the community lives in constant fear and that many residents had left until they felt it was safe to return. Secretary General Solana stated that it was the goal of the EU to root out terror in all parts of the Middle East, and that violence is not the answer. Dr. Solana is one of the architects for the "Road-map to Peace" and is a proponent of Israel forfeiting even more territory to the Hamas led Palestinian Authority.

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Rocket attacks in Sderot