I don't think any country would find it acceptable to have missiles raining down on the heads of their citizens.New York Times, July 23, 2008.
The first job of any nation state is to protect its citizens. And so I can assure you that ...if somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.
In terms of negotiations with Hamas, it is very hard to negotiate with a group that is not representative of a nation state, does not recognize your right to exist, has consistently used terror as a weapon, and is deeply influenced by other countries. I think that Hamas leadership will have to make a decision at some point as to whether it is a serious political party seeking to represent the aspirations of the Palestinian people. And, as a consequence, willing to recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence as a tool to achieve its aims. Or whether it wants to continue to operate as a terrorist organization. Until that point, it's hard for Israel, I think, to negotiate with a country that -- or with a group that doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist at a country..
Press conference by presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Not exactly consistent with a demand for a ceasefire that would leave the status quo, is it?
(h/t TIP)
UPDATE: Video of the speech before this part:
"Intolerable."
(h/t Solomon)