Jerusalem – Israel Swears In New President Amid Gaza War

    2

    Reuven Rivlin was sworn in as the tenth president of Israel on Thursday. Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) chaired a special session of the parliament, which was attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, MKs, and other dignitaries who filled the plenum and its galleries on July 24, 2014. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 Jerusalem – Israel’s lawmakers on Thursday swore in Reuven Rivlin from the hard-line Likud party as the country’s new president, replacing Nobel Peace laureate Shimon Peres who had promoted peace throughout his long political career but whose term ended as Israel is fighting a war against Hamas in Gaza.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    At a ceremony in parliament, the 90-year-old Peres bid farewell to an office he rehabilitated from one tarnished by scandal and handed the presidency over to longtime legislator Rivlin, 74.

    The swearing-in came at a particularly deadly day in the conflict, which erupted on July 8. On Thursday, Israeli tank shells hit a compound housing a U.N. school in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens who were seeking shelter from fierce clashes on the streets outside, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel’s military said it was investigating the incident. Hamas militants were firing mortars at the time, Israeli media reported.

    The Israeli presidency is a mostly ceremonial post but having Peres, a lifelong dove, at its helm for seven years helped the country’s image abroad. Rivlin is a veteran politician and supporter of settlements in areas Palestinians demand as part of their future state.

    Peres, who spent the last days of his seven-year term consoling the families of Israeli soldiers killed in the war, lamented the violence in Gaza.

    “I did not imagine that it would happen again, after we were hit with rockets, which were intended to harm innocent civilians,” Peres said in his speech. “And after we uncovered tunnels meant to kill, intended to penetrate into the heart of civilian communities and fire at mothers and children. We must alert the world to the madness of the terrorist threat.”

    So far, over 780 Palestinians, including many civilians, have died in the war. On the Israeli side, 32 soldiers, two civilians and a Thai worker have been killed.

    “We left Gaza of our own free will and even helped to rebuild it,” Peres said, referring to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, two years before the coastal strip was seized by Hamas militants.

    “Unfortunately, it was taken over by fanatical terrorists, who uprooted the structures for rehabilitation and wasted them on a machinery of terror and murder,” he said to a standing ovation from lawmakers.

    Once reviled as an opportunistic politician, Peres had become a father-figure for the nation during his term. He is credited with restoring dignity to the scandal-ridden post, which was reeling from rape accusations against his predecessor, the now-incarcerated Moshe Katzav.

    Peres brought the position international gravitas, winning plaudits from world leaders for his outspoken push for regional peace.

    Though the president is meant to serve as a unifying figure and moral compass for the nation, ultimate executive power lies in the hands of the more conservative prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

    In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Peres was defiantly optimistic, forecasting an end to Israel’s 47-year occupation of the West Bank and putting his faith in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a solid partner to secure peace. Peres spokeswoman Ayelet Frisch said Peres will go on to establish and head a company that will invest in education, health care, agriculture and technology in the Middle East.

    Rivlin, is a stalwart in the governing Likud Party, has said he will turn the presidency’s priorities inward, focusing on domestic issues, such as the rising cost of living and affordable housing.

    While Rivlin is respected as a champion of civil-rights, he does not support the creation of an independent Palestinian state and has been a longtime supporter of Jewish West Bank settlements.

    Rivlin praised Israelis for their resilience in the face of Hamas rockets.

    “Terror will never weaken our spirits,” Rivlin told lawmakers, stressing that Israel is not at war with the Palestinians but with the militant Hamas that rules Gaza.


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    2 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    9 years ago

    Best of luck to the new president.

    9 years ago

    good peres is leaving hope he moves to Gaza where he can make peace with hamas and ararfat he belongs in gaza