A European Union official visiting Israel said Israeli retaliation actions in the Gaza Strip "did not constitute war crimes." European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini also said that "Europeans should have understood Israel’s concern sooner," EJP reported.

Speaking to Israeli reporters on Tuesday in the course of his visit in Israel, he declared: "We have to take into account that the Gaza Strip has become a base from where rockets are launched every day against innocent people in Israel… Ultimately, Hamas was responsible for the conditions under which Gazans lived."

In a speech at the Herzliya Conference, Frattini, who is a former Italian Foreign Minister, said: "There has been a large-scale misunderstanding in recent years between Europe and Israel. For too long, we ignored Israel’s fears and legitimate concerns about terror, fanaticism and the refusal of key groups in the Arab camp to come to terms with Israel’s existence, let alone its legitimacy."