Shimon Peres
Photo: Yisrael Hadari
Peres: Hamas has missiles, but no future
'We've defeated entire armies, and we will overcome the threat from Gaza,' President tells Israelis born on Independence Day in 1948, adding that 'terror organizations destroying Lebanon, preventing the establishment of Palestinian state'
"It may take a while, but our future will be devoid of missile threats," President Shimon Peres said on Sunday, "Hamas may have missiles, but it has no future."
Speaking at his official residence in Jerusalem to Israelis born on the 5th of the Jewish month of Iyar, Israel's Independence Day, the president said "we have overcome strong forces that seemed invincible. This was the situation when you were born, and this is how it will be for the children of the future. They (terror groups) will be surprised by our ability."
Addressing the situation in the Palestinian Authority and the recent crisis in Lebanon, Peres said, "The terror organizations bring harm to their own people. They are destroying Lebanon and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"Israel, which has as many admirers as it does enemies, can create a greater future for itself. We've defeated entire armies, and we will overcome the missiles," he said. "We will be a nation that can strive for peace and at the same time have the ability to defeat (its enemies).
Jimmy Kdoshim, the 48-year-old father of three who was killed in Kibbutz Kfar Aza Friday evening after a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit his house, was laid to rest Sunday at the kibbutz cemetery.
The incessant Qassam fire from the Strip continued Sunday, as Palestinians launched three rockets in two separate salvos toward the Negev region. One Qassam landed near a school bus in Sderot; three children suffered from shock as a result.
