Netanyahu and Peres meet for first time since president publicly opposed Iran strike
Positive atmosphere at first one-on-one for a month
President Shimon Peres hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem residence on Monday, the first contact between the two since the president came out against a unilateral strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.
The meeting lasted for nearly two hours, and was described by sources as very positive.
In an August 16 interview with Channel 2 News, Peres said that Israel must not attack Iran alone, and should instead rely on the United States to assist it in preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Immediately following that interview, a source close to Netanyahu dismissed the president’s statements, saying, “Peres has forgotten what the president’s role is.”
Israel’s president holds a mostly ceremonial portfolio and his is generally regarded as an apolitical office.
Several ministers and Knesset members of Netanyahu’s Likud party also had harsh words for Peres’s comments at the time. Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) called his statements “a gross attack on the elected government’s official policy,” and MK Miri Regev said that she was looking into impeaching Peres for his comments.
On Tuesday, Peres and Netanyahu will meet again at a reception for Israel’s Paralympic Team, who returned from the London games as winners of eight medals.