Israel's President Shimon Peres, On the Attacks in Gaza

As a member of the press, I get Government Press Office updates on crucial talks and events happening in Israel. This morning, President Shimon Peres delivered this special statement to the press, on Operation Cast Lead (Israel's attack on Hamas terrorists' infrastructure in Gaza), and the ongoing Palestinian rocket fire on civilian areas in southern Israel.

I've included a word-by-word transcript of the statement, and thought it will be useful (especially) for those so removed from the conflict, yet so eager to debate about it.

Here is the transcript:

President Peres:
It is the first time in the history of Israel that we, the Israelis, cannot understand the motives or the purposes of the ones who are shooting at us. It is the most unreasonable war, done by the most unreasonable warriors.

The story is simple. Israel has left Gaza completely, out of our own free will, at a high cost. In Gaza there is no single Israeli civilian or soldier. They were evacuated from Gaza, our settlements, which called for a very expensive cost. We had to mobilize 45,000 policemen to take out our settlers from there. We spent $2.5 billion. The passages were open. Money was sent to Gaza. We suggested aid in many ways - economically, medically, and otherwise. We were very careful not to make the lives of the civilian people in Gaza difficult. Still I have not heard until now a single person who could explain to us reasonably: why are they firing rockets against Israel? What are the reasons? What is the purpose?

And I must say also that the phenomenon about Israel is the restraint of the army and the unity of the people. The army waited and waited; the Palestinians asked for a ceasefire, and we agreed. They themselves have violated the ceasefire. Again, we didn't know why, until it came to a point where we were left without a choice but to bring an end to it. The operation was planned carefully and the army was true to its principles: namely, to be precise in its targets and careful not to hit civilian life. There is a problem because many of the bombs were stored in private houses. We have contacted the owners of the houses, the people that dwell there, and told them leave it. You can't live with bombs. We have to bring an end to the source of the bombs.

Israel doesn't have any ambition in Gaza. We left out of our free choice. We have never gone back to the idea of returning to Gaza. It's over. But we cannot permit that Gaza will become a permanent base of threatening and even killing children and innocent people in Israel for God knows why. I feel that in our hearts, we don't have any hatred for the Gazan people. Their suffering doesn't carry any joy in our hearts. On the contrary, we feel that the better they will have it, better neighbors we shall have. Now that Hamas is turning to the Arab world for help, the truth is that the Arab world has to turn to Hamas for the help of Hamas. If Hamas will stop it, there is no need for any help. Everything can come again to normalcy. Passages: open; economic life: free; no Israeli intervention; no Israeli participation in any of the turnarounds in Gaza.

As a nation, we feel united. As a nation, there is wholehearted support for the army, the way they handled it, their restraint, their discrimination, and their responsibility. The great winner can be reason, and reason will lead to peace. We are very serious, in a serious mood. Many of our children are still in the shelters, and we would like them, like the children of Gaza, to breathe fresh air again. This is the story, and whoever asks us to stop shooting - they have to change the address. Let them turn to Hamas and ask them to stop shooting, and there won't be shooting. Thank you very much.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

Click here for my post of IDF Photos of Hamas Targets in Gaza Before the Strike

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Comments

[cheforacle]

Thank you for posting his remarks on this blog. A few years back I had the chance at a synagogue in Atlanta to see Peres deliver a speech. Like Yitzhak Rabin, I view Peres as an extraordinary leader of the same ilk as America's founding fathers. While I am sure to be skewered for such pro-Israeli remarks on this site (where I frequently submit comments) I view Peres as one of the great men of the 20th century. Someone who has made great sacrifices for his country and frequently worked hard for peace. I hope he lives long enough to see the day when Palestinians and Israelis conclude a peace agreement. Whether these attacks on Gaza will hasten or postpone such a day, I cannot predict. The campaign in Lebanon in 2006 strategically backfired and I am not sure yet if this campaign will as well. I doubt it as I think Hamas has less rockets, have had their capabilities degraded and possess rockets of less accuracy and length than those deployed by Hezbollah which is a more formidable organization than Hamas.

[Chopin]

The best hope for the new prez-elect to be consistent, bold and effective is to immediately go back to reaffirm basic principles and declare firm and unequivical support for that position. In this context, the internationally recognized basic principle is "Land for Peace" under a two-state Palestinian-Israel joint regional settlement recognized and supported by all nations and governments of the region, and by all signatory nations of the UN. The just and viable solution is widely recognized and known for a very long time. The mechanism to implement it is through an international conference of the region. The guarantors for such a peace solution and international treaty include all nations, but foremost the US.

Soon as the PE, SoS-Elect start to hum, haw and hedge, and say things like "... We understand why soandso takes suchandsuch actions, ... ", you KNOW, and every objective observer would know that's going on WRONG TRACK, heading in WRONG DIRECTION. Obama and Hillary cannot go on that track, and expect to emerge unscathed and effective, because commonsense would tell a reasonably intelligent person that there is absolutely no way to engage in tit-for-tat logic and reasoning, and still make sense to all agrieved parties involved.

For God's sake, just stand up and speak a ringing truth based on basic principles of justice and peace, and everybody and all negotiations would be raised to a higher level. Quit watching your flanks and your behind and your political base ....

[BubbaC33]

As long as Hamas continues to have as a part of its reason for being the destruction of Israel tChopin's post is a pipe dream and nothing more.

[nukemind]

Lol, he leaves out why they left. Ariel Sharon and the rightwingers realized that there were too many Palestinians in too small a space to control. Mr. Peres wants us to believe that Israel left out of good faith, but IF that were the case, they would have left all the territories and they know it. Sharon's rationale was to leave Gaza (except for border control), but ultimately annex Arab E. Jerusalem and large chunks of the West Bank with water and large settlements. This was a strategic move and not a humanitarian one. Don't kid yourself.

Gaza is part of the larger problem and if Mr. Peres is so certain of their supposed good intentions then why haven't you accepted the Arab League peace proposal that calls for a return to the 1967 borders in exchange for peace? Very telling. You want peace in the region on YOUR terms and you want more land. Just admit it and stop with the propaganda. Not all Americans worship the ground you guys walk on.

[esubius]

The Arab League proposal did more than call for the return of all land captured in the 1967 war. It asked Israel to allow ALL Palestinian refugees to have the right to live in Israel. This is a non starter.
You seem to ignore the fact that Arafat turned down a deal which would have gotten the Palestinians about 97% of the lands captured in the 67 war. That proposal came awefully close to meeting the Arab league's peace plan as far as land issues go.

[MIVOTE]

Let me get this straight, "Still I have not heard until now a single person who could explain to us reasonably: why are they firing rockets against Israel?" And if you are the leader shouldn't it be the leader's responisibility to find out why? To make people out of just doing something for no known reason makes no sense. if you kick a dog, it will bite. If there's a problem a leader should find a solution.

[Freddy Deknatel - Huffpost Blogger]

anything can be justified with rhetoric, so where is your skepticism? why not cut through Mr. Peres' official statement and connect the dots? also why is it at all significant that this is called "Operation Cast Lead"? Does the name make it somehow more appealing?

Notice that Syria has just cut off peace talks with Israel. this is strategic -- the right wing in Israel and the US doesn't want to warm with Damascus, among other regional shifts, and this is but one motivation and consequence of the bombing of Gaza. This goes far more beyond Shimon Peres wanting peace for all civilians and the terrorists saying no.

[nukemind]

Absolutely correct. Now try convincing the American public and our leaders beholden to AIPAC that. Mr. Peres is willfully ignoring the real reason why this conflict is continuing to rage, their land grab. Syria is hostile due to Golan and Hezbollah remains relevant thanks to the Shabaa Farms. Egypt made peace when Israel left Sinai. Same formula here. Try it before denouncing it.

[Hedonist]

Syria never had any intentions whatsoever of making peace. Only a delusional individual would think Syria would do anything without Iran's approval.

[Karin Kloosterman - Huffpost Blogger]

The name of the operation is the stupid invention of an IDF spokesperson.

I wouldn't trust Syria with a 10-foot pole. Its citizens that still have their own minds, wouldn't either. Freddy, I've been to Syria. People are afraid of their "government." They begged me to write. They begged me to send non-censored art books. They begged me to marry them, to take them from their hell hole. That was all, of course, before I became Jewish and moved to Israel. Oh, did I mention –– you're not even allowed to say that word Israel in public in Syria. The code name "Disney Land" is used instead. At least by travelers.

Syria a beautiful land, the people are sweet and lovely (most of them), but no one is really concerned about Syria cutting off peace talks with Israel. It's Iran that matters in this equation.

[sammyscout]

Karin, that wasn't biased at all, now was it?? :-)

[Freddy Deknatel - Huffpost Blogger]

Karin, I live in Damascus. Your description of Syria based on a visit is distortion and pretty slanderous too. The government may be one thing but the people are another thing altogether -- and no, they do not beg, they have a lot more pride than that. Did any of your elucidating encounters even occur in Arabic? The only people not concerned with Syria cutting off peace talks are those whose world view revolves solely around attacking Iran, ignoring the prospects of actual stability in the region, of which Syrian peace is probably the first and easiest step. At least is was before this weekend.

[sbrown80]

This propoganda will not work. Many right wing evangical christians support Israel because of the bible not due to this PR stunt. Most Americans are aware of the true victims, however, the bible forces to support them. So there isn't any need to put out this statement it doesn't even matter. Even if they killed a million people, we would still support them. Biblical history forces such support not PR statements

[fedupwithpolitics]

Poor Peres, he's been lying to his people for so long that he now can't tell the difference between a lie and the truth. Maybe Hamas' actions have something to do with the Israeli seige of Gaza's ports and the fact that Gazans desperately need imports like medicine and food. Israel "keft" Gaza, but didn't leave it alone. And the occupation continues in the Weat Bank. Perhaps Peres should go to this website for information on what his country is doing to the Palestinians: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

[orangepetal]

I guess you could say the ball is in the Palestinian court now. Hamas can try to work for peace. It seems they are the missing link.

[Doris]

Hamas's reason to exist is to destroy Israel. period.

[frankist1676]

Word.

[admirim]

Israelis broke the truce first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KntmpoRXFX4

[charlietuna11]

peres said it cost israel two and a half billion dollars to evacuate gaza. any one with an i.q. above plant life knows that u.s.taxpayers footed that bill. if he couldn't even get that simple fact straight, i could see no reason to continue reading his other lies. same old story. 100 palastinians are killed for every israeli, and your an anti semite if you fail to understand that the true victims are the israelis. what am i missing here?

[Ajita]

"Still I have not heard until now a single person who could explain to us reasonably: why are they firing rockets against Israel?"

This is a carefully constructed PR statement to the American media, aimed at disinformation. Everyone living outside the US knows the reasons why the Palestinians attacked.

[Doris]

the Palestinians did not attack. Hamas did. Of course, the Palestinians voted them into power - knowing that their stated long-term goal is the destruction of Israel. What were they thinking?

[sammyscout]

true dat!!

[cheforacle]

Do you have a link about the 2.5 billion being paid by the US. I have never seen proof of such and my IQ prevents me from assuming things just to make me believe that I am always correct.

[rpophessagr]

so apropos "for those so removed from the conflict, yet so eager to debate about it"

[mgloraine]

"The passages were open. Money was sent to Gaza...We were very careful not to make the lives of the civilian people in Gaza difficult."

When was THAT?? When were those passages open? All we have seen is Israel laying seige to Gaza, preventing the passage of food, fuels, and medical supplies, for YEARS. Israel has turned Gaza into a walled ghetto and exerted every effort to starve or bomb the inhabitants into oblivion. Gazans shoot a couple of home-made rockets out of anger and frustration, and the IDF responds with massive retaliation, flattening huge swaths of residential areas and killing civilians indiscriminately.

Mr. Peres knows full well why Gaza shoots back at Israel. They refuse to be silent and cooperative in the face of their imminent genocide. It may be a futile gesture, but it's all they have left.

[dianora1981]

I can't figure out if you're amazingly ignorant or just hilarious.

"A couple of homemade rockets"? Try thousands. And yes, millions of dollars of aid money from Israel and the U.S. has gone to the Palestinian Authority. No one knows where it went--at least, that's the official story. No one knows how Arafat became a millionaire, either. Officially.

"Imminent genocide"? If a genocide has been scheduled, then what's the delay? Israel has been in existence for 60 years, that's a LONG time to plan a genocide.

[Ajita]

Hoping this makes it through, here are the real statistics. Check our the swources, of you like:
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

[Doris]

home-made rockets? LOL

boy, are you in denial.

[Karin Kloosterman - Huffpost Blogger]

Genocide? Holocaust?

These kinds of words should be used more sparingly and responsibly by the blogging community. Israel has no intentions of wiping Gaza off the map. It has no intention of killing Gaza "citizens," who are, I should add, from the same stock as Israeli citizens who we call today Israeli Arabs.

There is no such thing as a Palestinian race. Pre-48, Jewish Israelis were also Palestinian.