THE LIGHT AT THE END OF A TUNNEL

A few days after leaving office, former Israeli President Shimon Peres visited wounded soldiers in Soroka Hospital in Be’ersheva. Peres praised the fighters for their bravery in battle and expressed hope that the war will end within days. I think that the war has exhausted itself. Now, we need to find a way to stop it,” Peres stated today. He stressed that the fighting might take more time because there is no real government in Gaza and no real army. “Everyone speaks of this depression to one another and in a different voice. I hope that in the end of the day there will be another side to come to a conclusion. That would be the greatest victory, to finish it politically with peace.” “I think that this is one of the most exciting visits that I have ever had because it’s a true story about the heroism of individual soldiers,” the former Israeli President stated. “This is the army’s war against terrorism, a war of heroes against uninhibited wicked people that don’t spare their own people.”

During the long moments where Peres passed from room to room in the hospital, he spoke with the soldiers and heard from them stories of the fiercest battles against Hamas terrorists. “The soldiers entered very much into hell for every footstep can be on a mine, every house could be booby-trapped, and every corner could be an ambush,” Peres related. “They walked without hesitation or complaint. These are amazing stories of heroism.” The former Israeli President also related to the purpose of Operation Protective Edge, removing the threat of the terror tunnels, many of which lead into Israel and have been used for terrorist infiltration during the war, causing the deaths of Israeli soldiers. “This is an unprecedented war, both in terms of the nature of the battlefield and in terms of the tricks used such as the tunnels. We’re lucky that we managed to find a response to the missile technology. I believe that we can also find a technological solution to the tunnels.” Peres added that the legitimacy to rule Gaza still belongs to Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen and that we need to find a way to return it to him: “Gaza was stolen from him. We also have the support of Egypt and the Arab world. We need to return the government in Gaza to Abu Mazen.”