"Israel was and has remained the only actor in the region that conveys basic staples for the welfare of the residents of Gaza," the Times of Israel reported Rivlin saying at a ceremony in honour of Israeli soldiers killed during Israel's 2014 assault on the Gaza Strip.
Comment: Is he drunk? Israel has killed at least 134 innocent civilians and injured 14,000 since the spring:
He also said: "As long as Hamas administers Gaza with an eye only to destroying the state of Israel and attacking its citizens, and continues to hold the bodies of our soldiers, Gaza will not be rehabilitated."
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Hamas would pay an "unbearable price" if it did not choose to accept a truce with Israel.
Hamas was freely elected in the last general Palestinian elections held in 2006. Israel has since imposed a stifling blockade on the Gaza Strip limiting the entry of medicines, construction supplies and food.
Comment: Nonsense! With or without Hamas, Israel will always find an excuse to feel threatened by Palestinians. Otherwise, how is it going to carry on with its decades-long ethnic-cleansing and land-theft program? Happily, this program will not succeed...
Why Israel's Expansionist and Ethnic-Cleansing Ambitions Will Fail