President Shimon Peres on Wednesday afternoon 3 Adar II 5774, delivered a statement regarding the capture of a weapons shipment from Iran heading to Gaza and said, “The capture of the ship carrying arms to Hamas was a brilliant military operation and an extremely important act. We can see the quality and courage of those who took part and we are proud of them. It is also an important message to the world, beginning with Iran. Iran must stop bluffing. This operation exposes the true face of Iran which says one thing but does the opposite. They put on an innocent face and send the most dangerous missiles to a terror organization that kills innocents, in violation of international law. Iran must make up its mind either to tell the truth and respect international law or admit that it is all camouflage and we cannot trust their policy or declaration. The same is true for Hamas. Does Hamas expect to sit in Gaza and shoot at civilians while Israel stands by and does nothing? I am not speaking out of fear but out of logic. We have nothing against the people of Gaza but why are Hamas shooting, why are they buying arms? The time has come for all responsible people to turn to Iran and Gaza and say, stop! For the sake of all those who want to live in peace. I want to send my congratulations to the army, to the commanders of our Navy, to the intelligence services and to the government for foiling this shipment so precisely and managing an operation without casualties.”

President Peres spoke with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon of Defense and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz and said, “This morning’s operation by the Israeli Navy was a crucial act. Congratulations to you, to the soldiers, to the commanders and to the intelligence services who took part in this operation. Every citizen of Israel should be proud of you all today.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)