Israel Matzav

No one in Israel listens to Peres anyway

In an interview with Channel 10 ahead of his departure from the President’s office next month, Peres rejected the notion that Obama was a “weak president” and lauded Obama’s efforts to strengthen US-Israeli ties. He said no other American president had been as receptive to Israel’s security concerns, nor taken as many steps to defend Israel in the international arena.

“What has he not done for Israel that was requested of him to do?” Peres asked of Obama.

“He vetoed UN resolutions [against Israel over settlements], did things that I do not know if anyone else would do,” said the outgoing president, whose seven-year term ends July 26.

Peres went on to deflect criticism regarding Obama’s alleged hostile attitude toward Israeli officials, specifically Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said relations between the two countries have never been better.

“All of [Israel's] defense officials agree that, when it comes to security, there has never been such a committed relationship between Israel and the United States,” he said.

“Obama has not once said a word of condemnation to us… I look at the results, [Obama] says things that make sense,” he added.

Peres stressed that the US president had been consistent in his stance towards Israel and the Jewish people, despite not having been involved in such issues in the past. When asked whether Obama can be trusted to dismantle Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Peres responded with a short but definitive “yes.” Netanyahu, by contrast, has openly challenged Obama’s declared readiness to sanction a deal with Iran that could leave it with an ongoing, albeit heavily inspected Iranian-enrichment program.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iranian nuclear threat, Shimon Peres

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:50 AM