Israel har fått en ny president

Från och med idag,torsdag heter Israel nye president Reuven Rivlin. Samtidigt som Rivlin svor presidenteden ljöd sirenerna som varnar för raketattacker i åtta städer. Under dagens lopp angreps förutom städerna i närheten av Gaza också Tel-Aviv regionen.

Rivlin sworn in as president under shadow of Gaza operation (Jerusalem Post)

Citat från Rivlins tal:
"Hamas terrorists can entrench themselves in tunnels, open fire from within schools, and use civilians as a living shield. But terror will not cause us to withdraw; it will not weaken our spirit," he added.
Rivlin emphasized that Israel is not fighting the Palestinian people or a war on Islam, rather it is fighting "cruel and murderous terrorism."
"The eradication of terror is not only just, it is the most humane act. Only the elimination of terror will bring an end to the killing of innocent people, on both sides," he stated.

Citat från avgående presidenten Shimon Peres tal:
Peres expressed surprise that "even this time after we were hit by missiles meant to hurt civilians...after we exposed murderous hidden tunnels used to enter the heart of our towns and rain fire on mothers and children, we'd still have to warn the world of the dangers of insane terrorism.
"Terrorism wants to spill our blood and leads to blood flowing in the streets of its people," he stated. "Hamas put hundreds of thousands of Gazans on the war front. They turned Gaza, after over 3,000 years of history, into a man-made tragedy...They forced their children to serve as shields and sent them to burn."
Peres said not all residents of Gaza are Israel's enemies, nor are all Arabs, and that Israel only opened fire in response to Hamas rockets.
"Israel will defeat terror because it wants peace and defends itself justly. Israel will win because of the IDF and its excellent commanders and dedicated soldiers. There is no army like the IDF...The country is proud of its army. The nation loves it and the people trust it," he said.
Referring to recent events, Peres disparaged the UN Human Rights Council's decision to investigate the situation in Gaza - "The murderers or those who refuse to be killed? If the right to life is not the first human right, what is the point of other rights?" - and cancelation of flights to Israel - "governments must stop terror, not flights."