PARIS (EJP)-- "President Sarkozy knows the situation well and the complexities in our region," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told French television TF1 after meeting Thursday afternoon with the French president at the Elysée Presidential Palace in Paris.

"This was a very good meeting. President Sarkozy represents the values of the free world,” she said.

"He understands the nature of the threat Israel faces."

She said any decision by Israel to end fighting in Gaza will depend on a daily assessment of its military operations against Hamas.

"We affected most of the infrastructure of terrorism in Gaza Strip, and the question of whether it's enough or not will be according to our assessment on a daily basis," Livni told reporters.

Livni also met with her French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner.

She said the violence could only stop completely once Hamas showed an understanding that "enough is enough."

She said Hamas had taken advantage of a six-month truce with Israel that expired in December to build up its arsenal.

"Even when we accept something in order to have a peaceful period of time, they abuse it in order to get stronger and to attack Israel later on."

"Israel distinguished the war against terror, against Hamas members, from the civil population in Gaza Strip and in doing so, we keep the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip completely as it should be. The crossings are open, more than it used to be before the military operation," she said.

"Israel and Hamas are not the same thing. Israel is a state. Following our values, we try to fight the terrorists and to avoid civilian casualties. Terrorists from Hamas are targeting civilians to kill. Yesterday, I went to a school in Beersheva that was hit. This is the difference. We are calling the populations on the phone to ask them to leave the area. Before the attacks, we warn them." 

President Sarkozy made no statement after the hour-long meeting with Livni as he is set to travel to the Middle East next Monday. The Elysée Palace announced that he will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah before dining with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. On Tuesday, the French president will travel to Syria and Lebanon.

The European Union, which is chaired by the Czech Republic since January 1, is prepared to launch a diplomatic shuttle to the Middle East to try to find a solution to the crisis.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said he planned to organise a diplomatic mission on behalf of the EU. It will include EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenber, and his French and Swedish counterparts, Bernard Kouchner and Carl Bildt.