US State Department spokesman Ned Price made a statement that Israel and the Palestinian Arabs have an equivalent right to self-defense as Hamas launches hundreds of rockets on Israel's southern and central regions and Israel retaliates by targeting terrorists.
“Israel has the right to defend itself and to respond to rocket attacks,” he said. “The Palestinian people also have the right to safety and security just as Israelis do.”
“We call on all sides to exercise restraint and calm,” Price said, lamenting the loss of life on both sides and the hundreds of Arab rioters who were injured in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem prior to the rocket attacks.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have launched nearly a thousand rockets at Israel since yesterday. Three women have been killed in the rocket attacks.