{UAH} UN'S BAN ARRIVES IN ISRAEL, SAYS NO COUNTRY WOULD ALLOW ROCKETS TO RAIN DOWN ON ITS CITIES:

Please pray for the peace of Israel.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who arrived in Tel Aviv Tuesday afternoon, as part of his effort – together with US Secretary of State John Kerry – to broker a cease-fire, said at a press conference with PM Binyamin Netanyahu that the UN position was clear: “We condemn strongly the rocket attacks, and these must stop immediately.” Furthermore, he said, “we condemn the use of civilian sites, schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities for military purposes.” Ban did not say anything during his brief comments to the press about the status of efforts to forge a cease-fire. Ban said that he “fully shares” and appreciates Israel's legitimate concern and the right to defend itself. He also urged to Israel to “exercise maximum restraint.” Ban praised the Israeli people, saying that “even in the darkest hour the people of this country have such a tremendous capacity for generosity and good.” He then urged Israelis not to despair of the peace process, saying “there is no viable alternative to a two-state solution.” Netanyahu directly responded to Ban regarding the two-state solution option, saying that Hamas is just another manifestation of violent, Islamic extremist organizations like ISIS, al-Qaida, Hezbollah or Boko Haram. Hamas' grievance, he said, “is that we exist. They don't want a two state solution. They don't want any solution.”Netanyahu said Israel was doing what any other country in the world would do in a similar situation. “In the face of such wanton terror, no country could sit idly by. Israel is exercising its inherent and legitimate right of self-defense and acting decisively to end the threat to its civilians.” Netanyahu said the international community must take a “clear stand” and hold Hamas accountable for consistently rejecting various ceasefire proposals, and for “starting and prolonging this conflict.” While Israel is doing everything it can to avoid civilian casualties, he said, Hamas “wants more civilian casualties.” (Jerusalem Post)

EU CALLS FOR DISARMAMENT OF TERRORISTS GROUPS IN GAZA: The European Union on Tuesday called upon terrorist groups in Gaza to disarm, and to end and renounce violence. The statement read: "The EU strongly condemns the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel by Hamas and terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, directly harming civilians. These are criminal and unjustifiable acts. The EU calls on Hamas to immediately put an end to these acts and to renounce violence. All terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm. The EU strongly condemns calls on the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields." (Jerusalem Post)

UNRWA DISCOVERS ROCKET CACHE IN ITS SCHOOL - FOR THE SECOND TIME: The UN agency UNRWA condemned the use of one of its schools as a storage facility for rockets Tuesday after discovering a cache of projectiles for the second time since Operation Protective Edge began. "UNRWA strongly and unequivocally condemns the group or groups responsible for this flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law," the organization said in a statement. (Jerusalem Post)