(Communicated by the Office of the President)

President Shimon Peres, this morning (Thursday, 29 August 2013), addressed the tensions with Syria at the beginning of his visit to the Jerusalem headquarters of the Israel Police and said, “The situation in Syria is not a local incident but a crime against humanity and a breach of international law. As such the responsible world is coming together to respond. Syria has crossed a moral boundary. The whole world was witness to the horrific pictures of Syrian children who lay dead on the floor. President Obama spoke on behalf of the whole of humanity when he said this breach of international law; this mass murder could not go without an appropriate response.

We must understand that the response is global, not local. We are seeing a serious coalition coming together, both militarily and diplomatically. Israel was not, and is not, involved in the Syrian fighting but if anyone tries to harm us we will respond with all our might.

Israel has a strong army, modern and powerful and a more advanced defense system than ever before which protects our land, our skies and our citizens. The reports aimed at Israel are an attempt to create panic but Israel is too experienced to fall for false propaganda. We must remain united, respect the decisions of the government and act upon the instructions of the Home Front Command. We should all have faith in the IDF.”