Israel criticizes U.N. envoy over Gaza comments

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel criticized on Monday comments by a visiting United Nations envoy, accusing him of equating Israeli military operations in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with the rockets fired by militants into the Jewish state.

Israel's public rebuke of U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes underscored long-standing tensions between Israel and the world body, which has described Israel's blockade of the impoverished Gaza Strip as "collective punishment" -- banned under the Geneva Conventions.

Holmes rejected the criticism.

Israel said that at issue were comments Holmes made during a visit on Sunday to the Israeli border town of Sderot, a frequent target of rocket attacks from Gaza. Holmes called for an end to the salvoes but urged Israel not to launch a large-scale military offensive in response.

"I've seen terrible things in Gaza on their side, and suffering of their civilians there. And here I can see the suffering of the civilians on the Israeli side in Sderot. We have to break that cycle of violence," Holmes said.

The director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry, Aaron Abramovich, protested at Holmes's reference to a cycle of violence during a meeting in Jerusalem on Monday.

"The use of expressions such as these creates an analogy between the terrorists and those who are defending themselves against terror," Abramovich told Holmes, according to a statement issued by Israel's Foreign Ministry.

The statement added: "Holmes' remarks do not serve the interests of peace, as they may unwittingly encourage terrorists to believe that the international community will exert pressure on Israel, instead of dealing with the roots of the violence."

Holmes, who sought meetings with Israel's foreign and defense ministers but was turned down, said he stood by his comments in Sderot.

"I think it's very hard to construe from what I said anything which could be said to be encouraging terrorism," he told reporters when asked about the Foreign Ministry statement.

Frequent Israeli air strikes and ground incursions into Gaza have killed some 300 Palestinians in the past year, including dozens of civilians, but failed to prevent rocket fire, which killed two Israelis in the same period.

Shunned by the West for refusing to renounce violence after winning a parliamentary election two years ago, beating Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, Hamas says it would cease fire if Israel stopped its military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Hamas is also demanding an end to an Israeli-led blockade that has cut supplies to the territory's 1.5 million people.

Abramovich told Holmes that Israel expected the U.N. "to support Israel in its struggle against terrorism and against organizations that deny its right to exist," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry said Israel would continue to cooperate with "U.N. agencies operating in the region in accordance with policy determined by the Israeli government".

(Writing by Adam Entous; Editing by Catherine Evans)