France on Monday condemned the continued firing of rockets from Gaza, calling on Palestinians to observe the cease-fire reached with the Israeli side, and the Israelis to act with the "greatest restraint."

"France strongly condemns the continued firing of rockets from Gaza and appeals to the various Palestinian groups to observe the cease-fire which was concluded with the Israeli side on Nov. 26," foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said during a regular press briefing.

"The situation remaining very volatile within the Palestinian territories and in the face of the alarming increase in the number of civilian victims, we call on Israeli authorities to act with the greatest restraint in order to avoid ushering in a new era of a pointless cycle of violence," the spokesman said.

Responding to a question concerning the threats of Israel to eliminate the leader of Hamas Khaled Meshal, the spokesman said France "constantly condemned the practice of extra-judicial killings as this was contrary to international laws."

"This kind of acts achieve nothing apart from reinforcing the most radical elements at such a time when it is necessary, on the contrary, to strengthen the position of those who are in support of negotiations," Mattei said.

Source: Xinhua